A Grimm Arc
by acw28
Summary: Weapons are meant to be wielded with Aura. For most of Remnant this is true, but Jaune Arc's first Grimm kill was done well before his Aura was unlocked. Now the knight will learn the side effects that occur when one doesn't have a protective barrier against the corrupting Grimm, and he and Remnant will soon learn the changes happening to the young Arc...
1. First Fight and First Ambition

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with a brand new story!**

 **So I know I'm already juggling quite a few stories, and I'm in the process of writing updates for several of them, but this idea just stayed in my mind and refused to leave, so I figured I'd go ahead and see where it takes me. As far as inspiration for this story goes, I was reading a RWBY fic that other day, and for the life of me I can't recall the name of, where Jaune is descended from a line of warriors that were able to ride a certain animal. From there I remembered that Jaune's semblance has never been confirmed, and the idea grew from there.**

 **A few notes before I get this story started. First off is that this is probably going to be a short chapter, I just want to get the major cannon deviations established. Second, I do have a pairing in mind but I'm going to keep it a secret for now (and Tobi you better not tell anyone!). Part of what I love about this site is how it offers people the opportunity to talk with those who create the content and influence the future of the story (I have been on both ends of this, and I can say that my work has definitely improved thanks to an outside perspective), so I'm interested in what my readers think and how they'll try to persuade me to follow their OTP. And finally the last note, I've got a new poll on my profile, so if you feel so inclined, please go take a look at it after you finish reading this.**

 **Whelp that's it, let's get this party started!**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth, I'm just a fan writing a story of what I think may have occurred with a small change to the plot.**

* * *

Without realizing it, Jaune Arc was doing something incredibly stupid. While he may only be twelve and was expected to make some mistakes, his age did not excuse the situation he was currently in. The day had started as it usually did, the boy woke up early to help his mother take care of his seven younger sisters before eventually being tasked to go out into the city of Arcadia to grab a few things while the woman tried to lay her younger daughters down for a nap. Usually this was his father's job, but as the man was currently on a mission the responsibility fell to Jaune. It had gone well to, the boy having followed a set of complicated directions to get to the small shop where he purchased a few groceries. He was also incredible lucky as the shopkeeper, after gushing about how mature and responsible the blonde was being, gave him a free chocolate bar.

But shortly after that the boy's luck turned.

On his way home from the shop, Jaune ran into a few older boys. Immediately the older boys recognized the blonde and seeing the grocery bags in the boy's hands, the ring leader had started calling Jaune a wimp, saying he'd never live up to his name. While it was true that Jaune was a bit weaker than other kids his age, that never stopped him from wanting to be a Huntsmen like his father, his grandfather, and his great grandfather. It wasn't simply about his family's name, he truly just wanted to help others around him, whether it be defending a complete stranger from a Grimm or running an errand to help his mom. Yet as the taunts continued Jaune shed a few tears at the hurtful words, giving the bullies something new to tease the boy about. In a fit of anger Jaune called out that he would show them, that he would defeat a Grimm before any of them, that they had his word on that and an Arc never goes back on their word. Not caring about the older boys' response, Jaune quickly turned and ran back home.

Once he had a chance to calm down, Jaune realized just how stupid he was being. The older boys were going to go to be attending combat schools within the next few months and were bound to be fighting Grimm within the next year or so. Jaune had to keep his family's honor, meaning he had to slay a Grimm and soon. This all occurred to the boy as he slowly made his way home. After quietly slipping inside so as not to disturbed his napping sisters, and mother if the shape on the couch was any indication of the woman's state of awareness, he continued to rack his brain trying to find the solution to his dilemma until his eyes spied he'd seen everyday but never given mind to.

Crocea Mors hung proudly within its sheath above the fireplace. Jaune briefly recalled his father saying that the blade was a family treasure, forged by the first Arc, his great grandfather, and passed down through the generations, continually increasing the legend of the family. Jaune's great-great-grandfather used the blade during the Great War to protect his comrades while his father had trained with the blade before forging his own weapon. And now, now Jaune was going to use the blade to make his words true.

After carefully moving some spare furniture around to grab the blade from its mountings, and struggling not to drop the heavy weapon and wake the house, Jaune once more slipped outside with the Arc family sword strapped across his back. After taking a deep breath to steal his nerves, the boy rushed into the woods surrounding his home. Like much of Remnant's settlements, Arcadia contained a central hub of activity while being surrounded by some woods. Although beautiful, the woods also held the threat of the creatures of Grimm, prompting the city council to long ago build a wall enclosing the immediate area so that the city's citizens could enjoy the tranquil nature without worrying about the dangers of Grimm. While this plan usually worked, the occasional weak level Grimm managed to slip through the cracks. And so Jaune found himself wandering the woods, hoping to find a weak level Grimm to slay. He wasn't particularly picky either, whether it be a Beaowulf or an Ursa, the blonde boy would slay the beast.

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for. As the boy was climbing over a large set of roots, he was suddenly pushed forward, his chin scarping the ground as a loud "clink" filled the area. Although his chin was stinging and bleeding slightly, Jaune quickly got himself up to see what had pushed him, only to see a small Griffon standing before him, one of it's middle talons bent slightly upwards from where it impacted on Jaune's sheath. As the woods became silent, Jaune got a closer look at his opponent. Like its name said, the Grimm walked on four lion-like legs and had large feathered wings and a bird-like head. However, unlike other Griffons he'd seen in books, this one was immature and small…only the size of a large horse.

The slight calm that had settled on the pair disappeared quickly as the Grimm released a shirk before charging forward. Jaune acted quickly, grabbing the handle of Crocea Mors, only for the blade to get stuck in its sheath. As the boy desperately tried to free the blade the Griffon charged forward and leapt. Jaune screamed in pain as the claw dug deeply into his left shoulder. The adrenaline from the battle giving him extra strength, Jaune managed to get his legs underneath the Grimm and kick it back, the claw leaving a diagonal, shallow cut as the beast was sent backwards.

Now with some breathing space, Jaune quickly got back to his feet. Instead of trying to get his sword once more, he wisely unbuckled the sheath and let it drop to the ground. As the Grimm regained its footing and began to charge once more, Jaune rolled backwards, grabbing the sheath in the process. Now with weapon in hand, the boy felt more confidant that he could do this, that he could sly the Griffon. However as he came to his feet, Jaune barely had enough time to cross his arms in front of himself to protect himself from the Grimm's chopping jaws. Although the beast's beak would have easily gone through Jaune's arms, he was lucky as the metal sheath managed to keep the Griffon's jaws apart, but that didn't stop the beak from leaving deep gashes in his arms.

As the Grimm withdrew its head for another strike, Jaune took the chance to swing the still sheath blade. As the attacks neared, Jaune proved to be a hair faster, the metal smacking into the Griffon's head with a satisfying "clang". The bad news, Jaune's balance was once more thrown off balance, the blade sliding out of both his hand and sheath as he landed on his back and had the wind knocked out of him. The Griffon, despite the head arch, took the opportunity presented to it pin the boy under one of its feet, the front claws just missing Jaune's head and the back talon grazing his side. The Grimm seemed to savvier its apparent victory, cocking it's head to the side, almost as if it was smirking at its future meal.

Meanwhile thoughts were racing through Jaune's head, 'Is this how it ends? Killed before I even get to be a Huntsman.' As the morbid thought left his head, images of the boy's life passed through his head, images of his friends, of his family, of his seven little sisters that he'd be leaving behind. 'No,' the boy thought, determination filling his body, 'I'm not leaving them behind!' While keeping his eyes locked onto the Griffon, Jaune reached out behind him trying to find his sword. This sudden movement alarmed the Grimm, causing it to pull its head back in preparation to finish the boy off.

As the deadly beak came closer, Jaune finally grasped the handle of his blade. Releasing a wordless war cry, the blonde swung upward as fast as he could with all his might, the blade cutting halfway into the Griffon's neck. Everything was still as the beast looked down in shock, meeting the boy's equally shocked gaze. Finally, the Grimm seemed to remember it's mortality, it's body collapsing on the boy. Despite the heavy weight pinning him down, Jaune couldn't help but to smile, knowing he had kept his family's honor. It was then that the events of the day caught up with him, and the boy laid his head back as he lost consciousness, confident that his injuries weren't too serve to require immediate attention and that the Grimm's body would be dissolved when he got up.

With both combatants incapacitated, one dead and the other unconscious, no one witnessed the oddity that was about to take place. As Jaune knew, Corcea Mors was an old blade, and a special one at that. The particular way the rare metal of the blade was forged gave it unique properties. Aside from never dulling or rusting, the blade also captured the essence of vanquished Grimm, releasing the energy in one giant burst when its wielder needed it the most. However every previous wielder had their Aura, the projection of their souls, activated before unknowingly using this ability, the pure energy acting as a buffer to its corrupting counterpart. Without this barrier, Corcea Mors served a new function, acting as a channel to direct the essence of the vanquished Griffon directly into Jaune. The long process continued into the evening hours until the body of the Griffon was gone. While Jaune's cuts were still unhealed and he hadn't gained any extra features such as claws or feathers, boy was changing, just not in a way that could be seen.

It's unknown how long Jaune would have stayed out in the woods alone, if not for an odd coincidence. Jaune's father, Louis Arc a man that looked much like his son save for his brown eyes, was returning home early from his hunting expedition, noticed a glint of light off the path to his house. A quick investigation revealed his son, heavily injured but alive, holding onto the family sword. Immediately the man put the boy on his shoulders and rushed into Arcadia's hospital, the ER staff immediately rushing to help. Once his son was in good hands, the Arc patriarch called his wife to share the grim news. Luckily for the two Jaune's injuries, though unsightly, proved not to be life threatening and after setting a few broken bones and stitching up the cuts the boy would be free to return home, where he'd be grounded for eternity if his mother had her way.

* * *

"Come on big brother!" Amanda Arc demanded as she pulled her twin's good arm. Jaune only chuckled at his sister's antics as the two walked down one of the side streets of Arcadia, running an errand for their mother. Luckily for Jaune his mother had been talked down for grounding him only two weeks, provided he wrote a ten page paper regarding why his adventure was irresponsible and promising never to do something like that again. This of course also came with Jaune's unofficial punishment, requiring an escort to and from town to ensure he wasn't tempted to go Grimm hunting again. Today the task fell to the second born Arc.

As he followed after his sister, Jaune reflected on a few changes that had happened to him in the past month. The most obvious were his scars. Although stitched up, the boy's recover was further sped up due to the careful application of Aura, resulting in the thread only being present for a week and the bones almost healed overnight. Still the healing left the boy with large scars on his chest and arms, something the boy was incredibly self-conscious of, leading to his habit of wearing a hoodie everyday. Jaune also found himself spending more time with his sisters. His family was always close before the Griffon incident, but afterwards Jaune seemed to find any excuse he could to play with his little sisters during his free time. In fact the only time he spent away from any family member was when he'd sneak off into the woods to practice with Corcea Mors, for some reason he just felt drawn to the blade after his first battle.

Although not paying attention to the outside world, Jaune was broken from his thoughts when a voice said, "Well what do we have here? The _hero_ has decided to grace us with his presence." Standing before Jaune was Marcus Lark, the ringleader of Jaune's tormentors and the only one to completely deny any truth to Jaune's tale of battle.

Seeing the older boy's grin, Jaune was tempted to wipe it off the teen's face, but instead said, "Go away Marcus, I'm not in the mood to deal with you today."

Instead of retreating, the older boy stalked closer, "What are you going to do _Arc_? Beat me like you did with your imaginary Grimm? Everyone knows that's just a story you made up to save yourself the embarrassment of falling out of a tree." Now Jaune really wanted to punch this guy, but before he could do anything Amanda spoke up.

"Leave my brother alone you jerk. If he said he fought a Grimm, he fought a Grimm." the girl said without a hint of doubt.

The street was silent for a moment before Marcus and his goons started laughing. "Look at this," the bully said to his followers, "the idiot's got the kids believing his crap." He then turned back to Amanda and said, "Don't worry sweetie, when your brother turns tail and runs at the first sight of a Grimm, I'll be there to save you and in a few years you'll be showing your thanks to me in my be…" before he could finish the sentence, Jaune had pulled his fist back and launched it into the older boy's mouth, feeling the bully's head jerk back before he fell to the ground.

"You aren't going to touch her, ever." Jaune declared, glaring at the entire group.

As Marcus propped himself up and wiped the blood away from his bleeding, he turned to his cronies an asked, "Well what are you waiting for, an invitation? Get him!" Hesitantly, the group charged at the lone blonde, Amanda running off to find her father when she saw what was about to happen.

It took twenty minutes for Amanda to find her father and lead him back to where the fight was. By the time the two arrived, they found Jaune sitting on a pile of boys, all moaning in pain at the beating they'd been handed. That wasn't to say Jaune came out of the fight unscathed, his lip having a large slipt and his left eye swollen shut. Despite seeing his son come out on top against multiple opponents, Louis still sighted before saying, "You know your mother's going to ground you again."

Shrugging his shoulders, Jaune simply stated, "They started it."

Shaking his head, Louis motioned for his son to follow him home before asking, "This isn't going to be the last time something like this happens, is it?"

"Probably not." Jaune admitted.

"Just don't be the one to start it, but be the one to finish it." Jaune nodded at the command, fully intending to comply with the order. And so began the year when Jaune gained the reputation of being both the unofficial pride and black sheep of the Arc family. Much like he'd predicted, Jaune's fights with Marcus and his goons continued, yet the blonde continued to best all opponents, even when Marcus invested a few of his friends from combat school to help out.

* * *

The year had passed quickly for Jaune. He'd hit a few growth spurts and now stood just under six feet, rivaling his dad in height. He'd also gained a bit of muscle, due to his constant brawls with Marcus and his secret training with Corcea Mors, yet he'd plateaued. Although he'd practiced with the blade, he'd learned as much as he could be himself. Sure, he could swing the weapon with speed and might, and he could hold back a charging Beowolf with his shield, but if he wanted to advance he'd need a teacher, he'd need to attend a combat school. So he'd gone online and printed out and filled out all the applications he could find; Signal, Sanctum, and a number of other options ready and waiting to be mailed out, just lacking the signatures of both his parents. His father signed without a complaint, his mother however…

"I don't care!" Oliva Arc yelled at her husband. "I am not sending my baby off to become Grimm food."

"But dear," Louis tried to reason, "he has amazing potential. He was able to kills one without any training."

"And he almost died doing it!" Oliva countered. "The only reason he has potential is because he applies himself to the idea so much. If he wanted to be a baker half as much as he wants to be a Huntsman then he'd have his own cooking show by now." The woman then turned to her son who had been silent the entire conversation. "I'm sorry Jaune but I will not allow you to go and that is final."

When his wife left the room, Louis released a long sigh before turning to his boy, "I'm sorry son, but it seems like she's not going to budge on this one."

"It's alright dad." Jaune said as he gathered up the applications and put them in the recycles. "I figured she wouldn't go for it, guess I'll go get registered for general ed. classes down town." Before his dad could say anything, the teen already left the house, hoping no one would see the sadness in his eyes.

* * *

The next four years were boring for Jaune. Like he told his father, he'd signed up for general ed. courses at the local school and had excelled at them, being within the top five percent of his class. Yet despite the praise from his family, Jaune's heart just wasn't in it. With graduation just a few months away, Jaune could have his pick of almost any institution or job, but nothing appealed to the boy. The only time he felt alive was in the middle of a fight with Marcus and his goons, which only seemed to increase in brutality as the years went by. After a particularly bloody fight last week, Jaune had overheard Marcus mentioning something about getting some hired help from a guy he heard about. Intrigued, Jaune spent a few hours of research on the net before being able to track down the guy Marcus mentioned. Oh how his stomach would dread this trip…

After offering a quick excuse to his family about wanting to avoid Marcus for awhile and going to a concert, Jaune was leaning against one of the walls of the Bullhead as it made its way towards Vale, Jaune doing his best to keep his stomach under control.

After a two hour flight, Jaune was thankful to be on solid ground once more, now he just needed to find this man. After quickly typing in the address he found online, Jaune walked towards his destination. Although he was being taken through a seedier section of the city, Jaune didn't stop, not when his dream was so close.

As he got closer, Jaune could hear the music coming from the building. Not seeing a line, the teen let himself inside and walked down the white hallway until he came to a set of double doors, guarded by a man a black suit with a red tie. Upon seeing the boy, the man held out his hand and said, "Stop, just turn around and go home."

Although he could have just knocked the guy out, Jaune just smiled as he pulled a 50 lien card out of his pocket. "Are you sure I can't go in?"

As expected, the goon quickly took the money and left, leaving Jaune to waited for the doors to open. Lucikly this didn't take too long and soon the teen was in the pitch black night club, a large dance floor and strobe lights at the end of the stairs and a large bar on the other side of the room. Making his way down the stairs, Jaune noted the large number of similarly dressed men, probably employees of the man he was looking for. However, it wouldn't help Jaune any if he talked to them, they were too low on the totem pole for the boss to really pay attention. No, Jaune needed someone noticeable.

As he slowly walked toward the dance floor, the teen saw his opportunity. Two dark haired girls, probably twins, stood near the edge of the crowd, one dressed in a red dress while the other wore a white outfit. Normally one would assume that the girls where there for a good time, but this would be false considering the board looks each presented, made no move to get onto the dance floor, and each were armed, red with a set of long claws while white had some bladed heels. Mustering as much confidence as he could, Jaune causally walked up to the pair and said, "Excuse me," when the two glared at him, Jaune continued, "I'd like to talk to your boss."

After a moment of deliberation, the white twin spoke up, "He's over there."

"At the bar." the red twin finished.

Nodding his head, Jaune quickly said thanks, only for the two girls to simultaneously roll their eyes and say whatever before stalking off.

As Jaune neared the large bar, he found it odd it was only manned by one person. Although he could only see the man's back, the blond noted that the tall man didn't wear a suit jacket like the other lackeys, making it a reasonable assumption he was the boss. "You Junior?" the teen called out.

"Who wants to know?" the tall, bearded man asked as he turned around. When he caught sight of Jaune, his eyes grew large before saying, "Get out of my club, I'm not talking to an Arc."

"Why not?"

"Because whenever people like me talk to people from your family it tends to end badly, very badly. Now kindly get the fuck out of my club before I call for the twins." Junior threatened.

Moving slowly, Jaune put a hand in his pocket before pulling out a 500 lien gold card, "I just want to talk." he stated as he placed the card on the countertop.

Junior looked at the card for a long moment before looking at Jaune again. "You came here alone?" When Jaune nodded, Junior sighed before picking up the money and saying, "I know I'm going to regret this but follow me where we can talk in private."

After following Junior to the backroom, Jaune took a seat at a small wooden table. "So what do you want?" The man asked the teen.

"To be a Huntsman." Jaune replied without hesitation, causing Junior to laugh loudly.

"Well I think you're talking to the wrong person, apply to Beacon or some other school if you want that life."

"I would," Jaune began, "If I went to combat school." Seeing he had the man's attention, Jaune explained, "I've got enough skill to defend myself, but there was an…incident when I was younger and my mom wouldn't let me out of Arcadia to study. But I hear you're a man who knows a lot of things, such as where to get transcripts."

"So that's the deal? You think you have the skill despite no formal training?" When Jaune nodded his head, Junior shook his head before mumbling, "I knew I was going to regret this." Turning back to the boy, the man said, "Normally I wouldn't help a teen rush off to their death, but you're an Arc and your family tends to be hard to kill. So here's the deal, on top of the 500 you gave me, I'll need another 300 to get everything set up and ensure the transcripts are in the headmaster's hands. Now, that's not a guarantee you'll be approved for entrance, if that's the case than pound sand and move on with your life, got it?"

Jaune nodded before asking, "And if I do get an acceptance letter before graduation?"

"Then you admit you were practicing late at night and caught the attention of a Huntsman known as Qrow Branwen, don't ask who he is just know he owes me a favor and will repay no questions asked, and he taught you a few things. Speaking of which, you're going to owe me a few favors yourself. Now, do we have a deal?"

Without hesitation Jaune reached into his pocket and pulled out four 100 lien cards. While Junior collected the money, he raised an eyebrow at the extra cash. "You're in the business of knowing right? The extra is so you'll forget about me if anyone asks." Jaune explained as he got up and walked out the back exit of the club.

Now that the hard part was over Jaune just hoped that his stomach would survive the return flight home.

* * *

Professor Ozpin did what he always did a month before the new school year started, sorting through the last of the applicants. There was no doubting that many up and coming Huntsmen and Huntresses were admitted to the school, but that didn't mean all applicants had what it took to survive in the school.

Yet so far this year's crops of candidates proved to be quite exceptional. Although there were some who would need an attitude adjustment before their final year, there was the disguised Faunus, the brawler from Signal, the younger Schnee daughter, and the Mistral champion, already a solid team if all went according to plan.

As the man sorted the last of the applicants and was ready to leave for the day, his monitor dinged, alerting the professor to a new applicant. Although he was done, the old man sat back down, reasoning that there was always time for late admittance. As soon as he opened the document, one of the caffeine addict's eyebrows rose. 'Jaune Arc?'

Although the first name was a mystery to the man, he, like so many of the older generation, instantly recognized the family name. Surely with a legacy such as his, the boy would have already made a reputation for himself, wouldn't he? Now intrigued, Ozpin skimmed through the rest of the application. Everything seemed to be in order, save that the transcripts were faked, although it was probably only Ozpin who would notice the slight details that showed they were a forgery. That meant there were two possibilities regarding Jaune Arc, that he was smart enough to hack into Beacon's system and deliver his own forgeries, or he believed he was capable enough without formal instruction to enter the academy.

As Ozpin slowly sipped his coffee, his mind calculated all the possible outcomes and probabilities, particularly the team structure. Finally coming to a decision, and despite his reservations, the man hit "Accept" on the boy's application. "Welcome to Beacon Academy Mr. Arc, let's hope you'll reward my faith in you."

* * *

Despite what he was hoping would happen when he went to Vale at the beginning of the month, none of it seemed real until he got the acceptance letter to Beacon Academy four days before graduation. Of course when pressed about it, he repeated Junior's lie about catching Qrow's interest, who Jaune still didn't know but apparently was a highly skilled Huntsmen as his name often came up when Louis talked with other Huntsmen. Of course Jaune's father and his sister immediately congratulated him, but his mother left the room and hadn't spoken to Jaune since.

That was six days ago. Having graduated yesterday, Jaune was now up early frantically packing the last of his belongings. As he struggled to close the zipper on the suitcase containing his game system and a few other "essentials", he heard a knock on his door. Turning around, Jaune saw his father, holding something wrapped in a sheet. "Ready to go?"

"Almost, this is the last one." Jaune said as he finally conquered the zipper.

"No you're not." Louis stated as he dropped the wrapped bundle on Jaune's bed. "You'll be needing these." After giving his father a questioning look, Jaune unwrapped the sheets to reveal a white breast and back plate along with a set of shoulder guards. While Jaune looked at the armor, his dad grabbed something from the doorway before speaking up again, "You'll also need this." In his hands was Corcea Mors. Jaune was about to refuse, the blade belonged to the family and not him, only for his father to speak once more, "This sword was based down to me from my father, and someday you'll pass it down to your kid. Take it Jaune, it's yours now." Wordlessly Jaune accepted the sword, stared at it for a moment, before launching himself forward and hugging his dad, saying thank you multiple times. Louis just smiled and returned the hug before saying, "Well enough of that, get your armor on and get moving, you've got a flight to catch."

Jaune nodded and quickly strapped the armor into place, it felt a little heavy but he'd soon grow use to it, then he strapped Corcea Mors to his hip before grabbing his final suitcase and following his father out of his room and down the stairs.

Due to the early hour, Jaune expected the majority of his family to still be in bed, and was surprised to see his mom sitting at the kitchen table. The woman seemed lost in thought until Jaune stepped off the last step. Instantly the woman looked up, locked eyes with her son, and began stalking forward. Afraid that the woman was going to attempt to prevent Jaune from leaving, the teen was surprised that when Olivia Arc hugged him before she said, "I'm sorry for how I've treated you these past few days, but I've been very selfish. I know you want to be a Huntsmen, to help others, but after seeing you in the hospital after the Griffon incident I was afraid that something worse would happen. This is your dream, and I've should have supported you instead of trying to stop you. Jaune, could you ever forgive me?"

A smile found its way onto Jaune's lips as he said, "There's nothing to forgive, you were just being a mother."

Olivia chuckled slightly at that before saying, "I want to see you off with a smile, but please promise me one thing, come back in one piece."

"I promise I will, and an Arc never goes back on their word."

Finally Olivia smiled before shoving her son down to shoulder height so that she could kiss his forehead. "Good, now get out of here, you have a long flight ahead of you."

Despite knowing what his stomach would need to endure, Jaune still smiled as he picked up his last suitcase and said, "I know, and I promise I'll call and write." Before his mom could respond, Jaune was already out the door. Olivia could only smile as her son ran to catch up with his father, and hope that the boy found what he was looking for at Beacon. Who knows, maybe he'd bring back a nice girl to meet the family.

* * *

Jaune stood next to his father as he waited by the Bullhead's loading ramp. As they watched the suitcases being loaded, Louis spoke up, "Are you sure about this? It's not too late to back out."

"I'm sure, as mom said this is my dream and I intend to chase after it." As the last of the bags were loaded up, the Bullhead's crew finally allowed the passengers to board. "Well that's my que, see ya later dad."

As Jaune started walking away, his dad called out to him. After he turned to face the man, Louis told his son, "I know this is your dream, just know that life at Beacon might be different than what you expect it to be and there's no shame coming back home."

Although one could take the words as a father expecting failure from his son, Jaune knew the real meaning behind them and that they came from a place of love. Smiling, the teen replied, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, and I'll be home for break, you can't get rid of me that easily."

With renewed confidence, Jaune turned back to the Bullhead, walking up the loading ramp and into the next chapter of his life.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap with a little over ten pages. A little over what I expected, but for once I actually managed to follow my chapter outline.**

 **So basically in this story I'll have a somewhat competent Jaune instead of a complete weakling. Don't worry though, there's still plenty for our favorite knight to learn and I'm sure he'll find some good tutors (hint hint).**

 **So with the closing of the chapter, several questions are presented, such as…**

 **How will absorbing the Griffon effect Jaune?**

 **What adventures await the boy at Beacon?**

 **Who will he bring home to mama?**

 **All these questions and more will be answered in the future chapters of** _ **A Grimm Arc**_ **!**

 **Until then, I'm acw28 saying, "until next update."**


	2. Grimm Galore

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with another chapter of** _ **A Grimm Arc**_ **!**

 **So, yeah, I know I should probably be doing something else, researching for a few papers or writing for a couple of my different stories, but what can I say, I'm on the hype train for Volume 4 (even though I'm probably not going to finish typing this update or even posting it before the 22** **nd** **, oh well).**

 **With nothing else to say, let's get this party started!**

 **Disclaimer: I may be a fanfic writer, but I don't have nearly enough vision to come up with something like RWBY, but just to be clear I do not own it.**

* * *

As the Bullhead made its last pit stop on the island of Patch, Jaune's hatred of flying only increased. In an attempt to stop the queasy feeling, Jaune rubbed his stomach and wondered why he'd been cursed like this. The odd thing was that despite how common airsickness was, Jaune was the only one in his family to suffer from the disability. It wasn't even the fact that the height got to him, in fact the teen enjoyed looking at the beauty the land could offer at such heights, it was just that whenever the Bullhead moved forward he felt he should be physically moving as well.

As the dust-powered machine started to slowly ascend into the clouds, Jaune tried to focus on something else, hoping that he'd be able to make the trip without losing his breakfast. After hearing someone yell out, "This is going to be the best day ever!" he turned to see a girl with long blond hair and purple eyes hugging a much smaller girl with black hair, the fringes of which were dyed a deep red, and a long red cape. After releasing a brief chuckle, he turned back to the window, hoping the trick about looking at the horizon would work.

Miraculously, it seemed to do the trick. As he continued to star ahead, Jaune found himself focusing on the wild blue yonder before him, wondering what it would be like to fly without the assistance of machinery, to feel the wind in his face.

Those questions would go unanswered as a smaller Bullhead, a privately owned one judging by the Schnee symbol on the tail wing, rocketed across his view. Jaune was only further disjared when the holographic projectors of the ship activated, showing the image of a woman with her blond hair in a bun, green eyes behind a set of glasses, and a purple cap with her white blouse, although the teen questioned why she'd buttoned the clothing in such a _unique_ way. As he once more tried to keep his food from escaping his stomach, he heard the projection say, "Hello, and welcome to Beacon, my name is Glynda Goodwitch." Anything said after that was lost on the boy as he tried unsuccessfully to refocus on the horizon. After about half a minute, Jaune heard silence, but it was already too late. Feeling a bit of bile coming up his throat, the blond stepped away from the window and started rushing off to find a trash can. As he shoved past the girls from earlier, a small bit of barf escaped his hands and he heard one of the two yelling out, "gross, gross, gross, gross, gross."

'Well so much for first impressions.' Jaune thought as he hoped and prayed that the airship would land soon.

* * *

It seemed whatever higher power existed had decided to take pity on Jaune today. Although his search for a trash can ended in failure, the Bullhead soon docked at one of the school's landing strips. Already by the exit, the Arc was the first one out, rushing in a flat out sprint to a grove of nearby trees and hunching over to empty the contents of his stomach. Once he was sure he would be fine, the teen straighten up and walked against the tide of new students back to the Bullhead. After a few minutes of searching for his luggage one of the crewmembers informed him that it was being delivered to the campus and that he should head to the main hall. After a quick thank you, Jaune once more left the ship, wondering where the main hall was.

The teen was brought out of his musing when he heard a large explosion. Looking in the direction of the blast, he saw the dark haired girl from earlier being berated be a slightly taller girl with white hair in an off-center ponytail and an entirely white coat and short dress. Brotherly instincts kicking in, Jaune was about to go help the shorter girl out, only to see another person, a teenage girl with long black hair with a black boy, amber eyes, and a white shirt under a black vest with white shorts and black and purple leggings. As he observed the newcomer seemingly defend the shortest of the bunch, Jaune decided to just hang back and observe. After a few minutes of conversation the white haired girl left in a huff, the black haired girl leaving while the third had her back turned. When the sole remaining girl dropped to her knees, Jaune decided it was time for him to lend a hand.

Walking over to the girl, Jaune offered his hand and said, "Looks like you could use some help, I'm Jaune."

The girl looked up with a smile before accepting the outstretched limb and replying, "Ruby," once back on her feet the girl snorted before asking, "Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

Jaune almost fell over as he said, "Of course _that_ would be the thing you remember."

Although still laughing, Ruby tried to apologize, "Sorry, it's the first thing that popped into my head."

Jaune only shook his head before he started walking on the path, Ruby following after him.

* * *

"All I'm saying is that air sickness is a much more common issue than people like to believe." Jaune said, carrying on the argument as the pair past by the same fountain for the eleventh time.

"How many times do I have to say that I'm sorry, vomit boy was just the first thing to pop into my head!" Ruby almost yelled.

"Well what if I started calling you crater face?" Jaune teased.

"That explosion wasn't my fault!"

"Fine, I'll believe you," Jaune said, "if you just remember I'm not vomit boy, I'm Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue and the ladies love it."

Raising an eyebrow, Ruby challenged, "Do they?"

"Well they will," Jaune hastily said, "after all, my dad says all you need is confidence and the ladies will come."

"Right…" Ruby deadpanned before trying to think of a way out of this conversation. Reaching behind her, the girl grabbed her collapsed weapon as she said, "…so I've got this," and unfurled her custom scythe, the weapon being taller than its wielder.

"Wow," Jaune said as he jumped back in surprise, "is that a scythe?"

"It's also a high impact, customizable, sniper rifle." Ruby declared as she pulled back the bolt and cleared the barrel.

"So it's also a gun?" Jaune asked.

"Well yeah, but it doesn't sound as impressive when you say it like that." Ruby replied before eyeing the sheath on her new friend's hip, "So what do you have?"

Drawing out his family's sword, Jaune said, "Well I've got a sword," he then placed the sheath on his wrist and expanded it as he said, "and a shield."

"Oh," Ruby asked, "what else to they do?"

"They're my great-great-grandfather's, he used them during the war," Jaune explained, "but while they don't shift to other weapons he forged them with some special metal that doesn't rust or dull."

At hearing of a metal that never rusted, Ruby started drooling a little, "Any chance of letting me have a bit to put in a spectrometer? As much as I love Crescent Rose replacing her blade can be a bit of a hassle."

"Sorry Ruby, but I don't want to risk damaging the sword." Jaune said before explaining his choice. "As selfish as it sounds, Crocea Mors has been in my family for generations, past down from first born to first born."

"It's fine Jaune," Ruby said. Although a little disappointed she understood what it felt like to treasure a weapon. Once more changing subjects, the girl asked, "So which way to the main hall?"

"I don't know, I was following you." Jaune replied.

At the sound of bells chiming, the pair stood silent for a moment before rushing off, Ruby muttering an "oh boy" under her breath.

* * *

Good fortune continued to smile on Jaune as he and Ruby managed to find the main hall before the headmaster gave his speech. In the crowded space the pair head someone call out, "Ruby! Over here! I saved you a space!"

When Jaune caught sight of the speaker, he saw it was the other girl from the Bullhead, now he could see that she wore a yellow top under a brown jacket that seemed two sizes too small if her bare midriff was any indication. The other blond also had a pair of black bicycle shorts under an asymmetrical white back-skirt along with cowboy boots and orange socks, the left one pulled up higher, as well as some sort of yellow bracelet on each hand.

"That's my sister Yang, I'll see you later." Ruby quickly said before rushing off.

'Sister?' Jaune wondered, quickly putting together both that Ruby must of skipped a few years and that the pair probably had at least one different parent. 'Then again, it could just be genetics, my family's a perfect example of how screwy those can be.' Shaking those thoughts from his head, the teen wondered around until her found an empty spot relatively close to the two sisters. If there was any doubt the blond, Yang, was the older of the two it was erased when she started teasing Ruby about "blowing up." Jaune had to chuckle at the pair's antics, until the white haired girl from earlier made an appearance.

Although he was ready to help defend his new friend, it wasn't needed as the girl didn't yell, instead presented Ruby with some pamphlet before ordering her never to talk to her again. By now Jaune could guess by the girl's attitude that she was a Schnee if any of his father's stories about them were true. Still halfway paying attention to the group of girls, Jaune saw Yang try to mend the situation and Ruby's offer of friendship (along with overhearing the other girl's name was Wiess), and Wiess' sarcastic remark of "doing their nails, and talking about cute boys." When the girl pointed at Jaune, and called him "tall, blond, and straggly," a single though ran through his head, 'I don't know who you are, and we maybe friends one day, but you shall feel the wrath of the prank master!'

Before he could put his masterplan into motion, Jaune's attention turned towards the stage as the microphone came to life. Standing onstage was a man with white hair, glasses, a cane, and a green scarf and three-piece suit. As the crowd quieted down, the man began to speak, "I'll keep this brief. You have traveled her today in search of knowledge…"after that Jaune zoned out as he looked around the rest of the room at his future classmates. Aside from the dark haired beauty from before, not too many people stood out. He saw a few other guys standing around in armor, although theirs looked more ornamental and one looked a little like Marcus from back home. There was also a boy that looked to be asleep on his feet next to a ginger girl that kept bouncing on her heels. However the most eye catching person Jaune saw had long red hair in a high pony tail and shining green eyes. Unfortunately that was the only glimpse he had of the person before the crowd started moving. Figuring it was time for the tour, Jaune followed along, but not before stopping behind Wiess and beginning his revenge.

"I'm a natural blond you know." Jaune informed the girl, and had to hide his grin as she looked down and pinched her brow in annoyance.

* * *

After a quick tour of the academy, which consisted of Miss Goodwitch showing the prospective students where the mess hall, the dorms, classrooms, and combat arena were, everyone was lead back to the locker room where everyone was given back their luggage and assigned a rocket locker. Although the tedious process was made even longer when some students had an excessive amount of baggage, such as a certain Schnee, Jaune waited patiently for his suitcase an backpack to be returned to him before setting out to find locker 636. After quickly finding the locker in the seemingly endless maze, the teen put his suitcase inside the storage, he'd just unpack once he was assigned a room, and then unclipped Crocea Mors and hung the sheathed blade on the back of the locker. Once that was done, he unzipped his backpack to grab his pajamas only to have his heart stop when he saw a familiar powder blue fabric with a note taped to it.

'Sorry big bro, but this is what you get when you're a meanie and don't say goodbye before you leave.' Jaune read in his head before looking at the end of the page, where his sister Amanda had drawn a cartoon of herself sticking out her tongue and giving the peace sign. After making a mental note to ask his parents to send his pajamas in the next care package, Jaune sighed before accepting his fate, it was better than the entire ballroom seeing his scars.

* * *

'Okay, you can do this.' Jaune psyched himself up as he got ready to enter the ballroom. 'This wasn't your first choice, but you can own this.' And with that final thought the teen strutted into the open space while humming a tune, seemingly not bothered by the onesie-footie pajamas (complete with rabbit feet) he was wearing. As he passed by a few guys showing off by wrestling without shirts, he happened to catch a glimpse of Yang. Stopping in his tracks, the teen couldn't help but admire how she looked in her black shots and orange tank top with an emblem in the center. While Jaune might have appreciated what he saw, Yang obviously wasn't impressed judging by how her wide smile turned into a grimace. Seeing a lost cause, and cursing his sister, Jaune started walking again, choosing a spot in the corner of the room. As he settled in for the night, the blond gave one last look around the room, seeing Yang drag Ruby over to the mystery girl from earlier and actually have a nice conversation, before Wiess showed up complaining about wanting to get to sleep, and proceeded to argue with the sisters again. Jaune only rolled his eyes as the mystery girl blow out her candles, the last remaining source of light in the room, and closed his eyes. However, he still had one regret, he hadn't been able to find the owner of the emerald eyes.

* * *

After Blake blew out her candles, Yang tossed and turned while trying to find the sweet spot of her bedroll, yet no matter what she did she couldn't get comfortable. Laying on her back, the brawler blew a stray hair out of her face while she contemplated what to do.

'Maybe a glass of water will help.'

With that thought Yang carefully got out of her sleeping space and began navigating between the other sleeping teens, quickly passing by her sister cuddling with her corgi pillow, a loudly snoring ginger, and a guy she swore was dead if not for the slight movement of his chest. Once at the door, she carefully opened it, all the while hoping the hinges wouldn't squeak and lead to a repeat of the Schnee incident.

Once in the hallway, Yang started walking in the direction she thought the bathroom was. Thankfully she was right and she arrived only a few minutes later. Upon entering the room, Yang saw a small table by the sinks with a few plastic cups and a note saying, "Please dispose of after use." As the blonde reached out for a cup, she heard someone muttering to themselves.

"Come on you stupid nightgown…why won't you cooperate?" Turning around, the brawler saw that there was still one shower stall occupied. Deciding to take pity on this poor girl, Yang walked over and knocked on the door before asking, "You alright in there?"

For a brief moment the room was silent before a small voice said, "Yes."

"Do you need any help?" Yang questioned.

"…yes."

"Alright I'm coming in." Yang said as she opened the door, greeted by the other teen's back. Aside from the long red hair, the brawler didn't see much else of the person as she focused on the problem in front of her. The girl was wearing a form fitting, scarlet night gown stretching from her knees to just below her shoulder blades. The difficulty the red head had was trying to tie the stings that held the front up, not having a good enough handle on the small bit of material to tie the knot behind her head. As Yang took the strings from the mystery girl, the brawler couldn't stop herself as she said, "Most girls don't have a problem with this, first time wearing a nightgown?"

"Actually yes," the other teen said, "nights are so much hotter in Mistral I never bothered with sleepwear." With the teens red hair and nationality, Yang quickly figured out who the girl was, her suspicions were confirmed when the girl turned to reveal the face of four time champion Pyrrha Nikos. "I'm Pyrrha, and you are?"

"Yang Xiao Long, pleasure to meet ya Pyrrha. Just a bit of advice, don't go around telling people you sleep in the buff, you never know who will sell the story to a tabloid."

"It's not like it's some big secret." Pyrrha replied, "Most everyone in Mistral does it, the paparazzi just have enough respect not to try and publish anything about it, or go to certain beaches."

"Oh ho!" Yang cheered, "Miss champion going to the big girl beaches? See anything good?" Yang smirked as she teased the girl.

Pyrrha blushed before quickly saying, "Well I haven't personally but there are plenty of celebrities that have and you haven't seen any of their photos now have you?"

"Oh relax girl, I'm just having some fun." Yang said, trying to calm the champion down before leaving the bathroom. "Well see you around P-Money, I hope we can be friends."

"Really?" the champion asked with hope in her voice.

"Of course, despite your skill you don't seem stuck up like a certain heiress, and I could see having some good spars with you," Yang's smirk returned as she said, "plus you're going to take me to some of those special beaches during the break."

Pyrrha only smiled and shook her head as she watched Yang walk away. The brief conversation had only reinforced her belief that she'd been right to attend Beacon instead of Haven. 'Seems like I'll actually be able to make some friends here after all.'

* * *

To survive living with seven sisters, Jaune had to discover some rules, such as if you want any hot water you have to get up early. These rules were bound to stick with the blond for the rest of his life, which was why he'd awoken to the rest of the ballroom still alseep, save for the ginger girl from earlier who was already fully dressed and kneeling beside a sleeping boy. Paying no mind to the girl's eccentric behavior, Jaune quickly managed to get a shower and get dressed in his hoodie and armor without anyone seeing his scars. Afterwards it was a quick breakfast (Pumpkin Pete's cereal, his favorite), it was back to the locker room to get Corcea Mors and then off to initiation.

As the knight wondered around he passed by Ruby and Yang beginning to argue about something but choose not to intervene there, another rule that he'd picked up from his home life. He also passed by Wiess and some other girl talking about team placement. As Jaune finally found his locker and retrieved his sword he heard the new girl, Pyrrha if he heard Wiess right, say it'd be "grand" to team up with the Schnee, although Jaune had spent enough time around his father's office to know the girl was just being nice. When Jaune turned around and saw Wiess with her back to the girl plotting something he couldn't resist the opportunity.

"You know what else is grand?" the teen asked as he stepped between the girls, "Me, Jaune Arc. How are you doing Snow Angle?"

Wiess, however, remained unimpressed as she glared and said, "You again?"

Before Jaune could respond, Pyrrha stepped in front of him. Jaune didn't know which he was more surprised about, that this girl was the owner of the captivating emerald eyes he'd seen yesterday or that she was Pyrrha _freaking_ Nikos. Of course the boy knew who she was, but based on her previous conversation with Wiess, the champion probably just wanted to be treated like everyone else. So when the beauty said hello, it took every ounce of self-control not to start talking to her, instead he dismissively said, "Yeah that's nice," and pushed her out of the way as he turned his attention to Wiess and said, "so Snow Angel, I couldn't help but hear about your fondness of me." As he spoke Jaune flexed his bicep, the muscle hidden by his hoodie.

"You have got to be kidding me." Wiess muttered under her breath.

"Now no need to be embarrassed." Jaune said as he internally smirked, "Now I know you hear talk of teams, and I think we'd make a good one," going for broke he placed his arm around Wiess' shoulders as he finished, "I'm not suppose to do this, but I could pull some strings and…"

"Actually," Pyrrha spoke up, and Jaune once more had to stop his jaw from dropping once he got a good look at her armored corset, neck guard, and short skirt, "I believe teams are composed of four people." the red head finished.

"You don't say?" Jaune asked as he slid over to Pyrrha, "Well how about we join a team together?"

Before Pyrrha could respond, Wiess placed herself between the two and asked, "Jaune is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

'Yes I do, she's Pyrrha _freaking_ Nikos!' Jaune mentally yelled, but instead said, "Can't say I do."

Wiess actually seemed angry as she said, "This is Pyrrha."

Said Spartan waved and said, "Hello again."

Wiess continued by saying, "She graduated from Sanctum with top honors."

"Congratulations." Jaune told Pyrrha, who smiled at the blond.

"She's the four time Mistral Regional Tournament champion." Wiess continued.

"You must have had some good fights, sorry I missed them, we don't get that good a scroll reception at my house." Jaune told Pyrrha, whose grin only grew.

Getting fed up, Wiess shouted, "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal box!"

'I know, I have to fight my sisters for the box tops!' Jaune thought before gasping and asking the teen, "That's you! But they only do that for star athletes. Well, them and cartoons."

"Yeah," Pyrrha admitted as she looked at her feet, "it is pretty cool, even if the cereal isn't that good for you." Truthfully the Spartan couldn't stand the taste of the over sugared breakfast food, you really do need a iron stomach to digest the stuff.

"So," Wiess began as she stepped in front of Pyrrha, "after hearing all of that do you think you are in a position to ask her to be on your team?"

"I guess not," Jaune admitted as he deflated, but added in his mind, 'but it's her choice if she wants to join up or not.' As he wallowed in self-misery, Jaune was surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder, even more so when he saw a smiling Pyrrha comforting him.

"Actually Jaune, I think you'd make a fine leader."

Jaune actually blushed a bit as he stood straight, "Oh stop, you're going to embarrass me."

"Yes please stop," Wiess said from behind the duo, "this behavior shouldn't be encourage."

'Wow, ice queen really needs to thaw out.' Jaune thought before remembering his original goal. "Well Wiess, Pyrrha seems onboard for Team Jaune. What do you say spots are filling up fast."

"Okay, that's too close," Wiess stated as she started walking backwards before calling out, "can I get some help here?"

Jaune heard something mechashifting and had enough time to turn around to investigate the noise before he felt something slide between the shoulder strap of his chest plate and his hoodie. The teen was unprepared as he was flung backwards until he hit one of the lockers. Once the world stopped spinning, he saw that he was pinned to the locker with a familiar red and gold javelin, and Pyrrha's angelic voice saying, "I'm sorry!"

Jaune would have responded, if Miss Goodwitch didn't come over the PA announcing it was time for initiation. As Wiess walked by she held her nose high in the air, Pyrrha had to stop momentarily to reclaim her spear, telling Jaune it was nice to meet him, with the boy sharing the sentiment. Shortly after Ruby and Yang walked up to Jaune and helped him to his feet as Yang teased, "Having some trouble there lady killer?"

"Not really," Jaune said as he dusted himself off and followed the two sisters to Beacon Cliff, "I'm just getting some revenge on Ice Queen for calling me lanky, I wouldn't mind talking a bit more to Pyrrha though."

"Well maybe you'll get lucky and she'll be your partner." Ruby suggested, causing Jaune to smile.

Seeing this, Yang told her sister, "Hey Rubes, you go on ahead while me and vomit boy have a quick chat." Seeing Yang slip into her overprotective sister mode, Ruby rolled her eyes but none the less did as she was told. When Ruby was out of sight, Yang turned to Jaune with her eyes glowing red. "Let's get one thing straight Arc, I don't care if you're Ruby's first friend, if you…"

However before she could finish her threat, Jaune interrupted his fellow blond, "hurt her you'll bend my spine like a pretzel, then put salt and butter on me and throw me to the Grimm." When Yang blinked in shock, her eyes returning to their lilac color, the knight explained, "I've got seven younger sisters, I've had to give that speech a few times. And don't worry, as nice as Ruby is she's too much like my sisters for me to consider her anything other than a friend." Although the girl had calmed down significantly, Jaune could still see some traces of anger in Yang's eyes. Sighing, he asked, "There's something else, isn't there?"

Pointing down to her feet, Yang stated, "These are my favorite boots, and you've practically ruined them." It was true, although small there were several distinctive dark stains around the toes of the boots.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Air travel doesn't really agree with my stomach." Jaune said as he scratched the back of his head. "Let me make it up to you, I'll pay to get the cleaned."

"Alright then," Yang said as a smile began to from on her lips, "the first free time we get you're taking me into Vale to get my boots fixed."

"It's a date." Jaune said out of pure instinct, having to do similar errands for his sisters and that's what they always called it.

Yang was once more shocked but recovered quickly and regained her grin as she said, "You're the one that said it, not me." When she failed to gain a reaction, the brawler added, "Well if all goes well my shoes aren't that only thing that'll be coming off." Yang didn't look back as she heard Jaune's armored form collapse on the floor, her grin growing even more as she walked away.

* * *

After his little conversation with Yang, Jaune had managed to arrive at Beacon Cliff just barely in time. As he took the last open spot, the knight caught the tail end of Ozpin's speech about finding partners and making his way to the Northern end of the Emerald Forest. When the headmaster asked if there were any questions, Jaune tried to get his attention several times only to be ignored. Finally losing his patience, Jaune called out, "Sir, how exactly are we getting into the forest? Are you dropping us off or something?"

"No," Ozpin calmly responded, pausing to sip his ever present coffee mug, "you will be falling."

"Falling? Did you hand out parachutes before I got here?" Jaune asked.

"No, you'll be relying on your own landing strategy."

'Landing strategy?' Jaune questioned in his head, before he heard gears move underneath him. A quick glance down was enough to make the teen finally realize he was standing on a launch pad, a look to his left revealed he was the last to be launched. Jaune just had enough time to send Ozpin a small glare, which the headmaster easily shook off before saying, "Safe travels Mr. Arc."

* * *

After the initial fright of being launched in the air, Jaune quickly found himself oddly at peace with everything. He couldn't explain it, but hearing the wind rushing past him, seeing the trees moving underneath him, it just felt natural to the Arc, as if he belonged in the air since the beginning of time. Yet now he had a new problem, the rapidly approaching ground. As the teen tried to think of something, he heard a loud "Bang" and managed to angle himself towards the noise's origin, revealing a familiar red and gold javelin. Able to judge the trajectory of the blade, Jaune acted quickly, rolling his shoulder out of the way and grabbing the weapon's shaft as it speed off. By sheet luck the blond held onto the weapon until the blade sunk deeply into a tree. After recovering from the impact, Jaune swung his feet forward and planted them against the tree as he tried to free the javelin. Despite his best efforts, the teen couldn't get the blade to budge, but soon he heard the bushes rustling. When he managed to turn his head, Jaune saw Wiess standing in the clearing with an unreadable expression, however she soon turned around and walked back into the woods, a loud cry of "You came back!" was heard soon after.

Jaune only shook his head, not being able to plan a better prank if he tried. Going back to trying to get the javelin freed, Jaune once more heard the bushes rustle, this time Pyrrha stepped into the clearing. "Jaune?" the champion asked, "Is there still room on your team?"

Seeing the girl smile, Jaune grinned himself as he replied, "You're just loving this aren't you?" As Pyrrha continued to smile, Jaune asked, "A little help here?" With a flick of her wrist, Pyrrha used her semblance of polarity to pull her weapon out of the tree, Jaune going along with the ride. "Thanks, so North is it?"

* * *

The newly formed duo began their quest to find the relics. Growing up in the woods around Arcadia, Jaune had no difficulty keeping up with Pyrrha as she forged ahead in the thick terrain, however the girl had a nasty habit of bending smaller tree branches out of her way, only for the branches to snap back and smack Jaune in the face. After one particularly painful branch knocked him off his feet, Jaune couldn't stop himself from yelling, "Ow! Son of a…!"

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha quickly said as she helped her partner onto his feet.

"Don't worry about it, it's just a scratch." Jaune said, pulling his hand away from his bloody cheek.

While she was concerned before, Pyrrha was now confused. "Why didn't you activate your aura?"

"My aura?" Jaune questioned, before quickly remembering his lessons from school. "Well I didn't exactly go to combat school, I was tutored by my dad and he never got around to unlocking it." Jaune quickly said, giving a partial truth.

"Oh," Pyrrha quietly said before asking, "would you like me to unlock it for you?" Not seeing any harm in the act, Jaune nodded. "Okay, now close your eyes and concentrate." Pyrrha ordered, with Jaune following her commands. Moving closer to her partner, Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's cheek and concentrated as she said, "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee." Finishing the chant, Pyrrha opened her eyes and smiled as she saw her partner glowing white, his cut healing quickly.

After releasing the breath he'd been holding, Jaune opened his eyes to see his partner slumped over and quickly asked, "Pyrrha?"

"It's alright, I'm just a little tired unlocking your aura," the amazon explained as she straightened up, "but now it's your own energy protecting you, and you've got quite a lot of it." Pyrrha couldn't help but grin even more as she saw Jaune look in wonder at his still glowing hands. When the newly unlocked aura finally calmed down, Pyrrha turned around to begin the walk to the ruins once more, only to trip on a stray root. As she fell forward, the champion prepared to use her momentum in a combat roll to right herself, only to be surprised when Jaune grabbed her from behind and in once fluid motion placed her on his back. Although thankful for her partner's concern, Pyrrha said, "I'm alright Jaune, you can put me down now."

"I think unlocking my aura drained you more than you thought." Jaune disagreed before stating, "You kept me from becoming a stain on some unfortunate tree, this is the least I can do for you so just rest."

Seeing that her partner wasn't about to let up, Pyrrha resigned herself to the piggyback ride and just leaned forward to get a more comfortable position.

* * *

After a few minutes of walking, the pair came to a cave. As Jaune let Pyrrha off his back, the champion asked, "Do you think this is it?"

Jaune's initial answer would have been to investigate the cave, but something in his gut was telling him something ancient was hiding in the darkness, ancient and angry. That and the primitive painting of a giant scorpion was enough to make the Arc reconsider making a torch. Quickly fining an excuse to get away from the ominous cave, Jaune said, "Ozpin didn't say anything about a cave, we should probably keep moving." Thankfully his partner nodded, seeing the logic Jaune's statement.

As the pair began walking away, they felt the ground tremble before hearing something crash. Turning around, the duo saw a Deathstalker, a giant scorpion-like Grimm, exploding out of the cave, releasing a terrifying screech as it began stalking forward. Acting immediately, Pyrrha dropped to a knee and mechshifted her javelin into its rifle mode, quickly firing off three rounds, one of which hit one of the Grimm's eyes. Although one of its ten eyes was blinded, this only served to make the monster angrier. Recognizing this, Jaune quickly pulled his partner up while saying, "I like the effort, but right now we need to run!"

As the two began running for their lives, the Deathstalker gave chase. As Jaune and Pyrrha entered the woods, the blonde hazard a glance backwards, only to see the monster gaining on them. Quickly coming up with a plan, Jaune drew his sword and started hacking down large branches as he passed underneath, hoping the round surface would give the Grimm trouble. Seeing what her partner was doing, Pyrrha quickly caught onto the plan and used her own sword to cut down the obstacles. To his mild surprise, Jaune's plan actually worked to a degree. While the Deathstalker was still chasing the teens, it was no longer gaining on them due to the round branches not offering a good terrain for the beasts multiple legs. However they soon ran into a problem when the tree branches grew too high up to cut down.

As the Grimm once more began to gain on the two hunters, Jaune began trying to think of a new plan, yet nothing was coming to him. Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Jaune saw the Deathstalker pulling its claws inward. Having a decent idea of what was going to happen, the knight fell behind his partner and turned to face the beast as he deployed his shield, the metal taking the impact as the Deathstalker swung outward, causing the teen to go airborne. Both Pyrrha and the Grimm stopped as they watched Jaune fly into the sky. The Deathstalker seemed to be the first to remember they were enemies and with a series of low clicks began to advance on Pyrrha. The red head moved turned around and held her javelin defensively, but instead of charging, scratched the back of her head and ran off in the direction her partner flew, the Grimm giving chase soon after.

* * *

For the second time today Jaune found himself hurtling through the air, and didn't find the experience all to discomforting. As much as he enjoyed the impromptu flights, he really needed to figure out a landing strategy that did not involve himself hitting a tree. Once more fate was smiling on the blond, or playing a joke on him, as he soon collided with something solid that slowed down his descent and redirected his trajectory, so although he did hit a tree, he wasn't injured, even if he got his foot stuck in one of the upper branches and was currently hanging upside down. Thankfully from his vantage point he could see the ruins just below him, and watch as Pyrrha continued to ran from the Deathstalker, jumping through its claw as it tried to swipe at the champion.

"Ugh, what was that?" Hearing a voice, Jaune looked down to see Ruby leaning up against the tree's trunk. Although looking confused, the girl soon shook her head and looked Jaune's way. Not having anything better to say, the knight just said hi before the pair heard Yang's voice call for her sister to get out of the tree. "Well, see ya Jaune!"

"Yeah, see ya later Ruby." Jaune said as he peered upward to where his foot was stuck. Thankfully Crocea Mors had managed to stay in its sheath during Jaune's air travel. Drawing the blade out, Jaune made quick work of the upper branch and managed to land gracefully on a thicker lower limb. The blond was about to jump down and join everyone else at the ruins and prepare to fight the Deathstalker, only to hear someone screaming. Looking up, Jaune saw a giant Nevermore, a bird-like Grimm, and Wiess falling off of it.

Although the girl had been rather rude, Jaune wasn't just going to sit by and watch her go splat. Collapsing his shield and sheathing his blade, Jaune timed it right and launched himself out of the tree, catching Wiess mid-fall. Not able to resist the opportunity, Jaune asked, "Just dropping by?"

Wiess would have responded, if the two didn't suddenly remember the laws of physics and start following to the ground once more. As the two braced for impact, Jaune rolled forward, ending up with Wiess sitting heavily on his stomach and a large clump of rocks digging into his back. As the heiress ideally sat on Jaune's gut, she dryly said, "My hero."

Jaune was about to respond, only to see Pyrrha still being chased by the Deathsalker, and using her shield to block a heavy hit, although she was still launched into the heart of the ruins. Seeing his partner possibly hurt, Jaune unceremoniously shoved Wiess off of him and rushed over to help his partner stand up.

"Well good, gang's all here to die together." Yang commented. Although Jaune wanted to make a snappy comeback, he quickly took stalk of the situation. It was him, Pyrrha, Ruby, Wiess, Yang, Blake, the hyperactive ginger, and the zombie ninja against the Deathstalker and the giant Nevermore. The knight was about to suggest everyone a relic, which looked to be chess pieces, and run for the cliff, only for Ruby to rush forward and try to fight the Deathstalker herself!

Predictably, that didn't go very well. After being pushed back a few times and taking some pot shots at the beast, Ruby started running back to the group, only for the Nevermore to start launching its bladed feathers at the girl, piercing her cloak and trapping her as the Deathstalker readied its giant stinger. Yang tried to rush forward to save her little sister, only to be stopped by another barrage of deadly feathers. Jaune would have been concerned for the girls, if he didn't see Wiess using the Schnee family glyphs to charge forward and block the stinger with a wall of ice dust.

As Wiess and Ruby were having a heart-to-heart, Jaune turned to the last to mystery teens. "Okay, names and what weapons you've got. We're probably going to have to fight those Grimm at least part of the way back to Beacon and I'd like to know what we have before I start forming a strategy."

"Well I'm Nora" the girl said, only now did she stand still long enough for Jaune to see she had blue eyes and wore a white shirt with a heart cut out in the center, a black sleeveless jacket, and a pink skirt, "and I have a warhammer, grenade launcher." She then zoomed next to the boy, who Jaune realized had magenta colored eyes that matched the streak in his otherwise long black hair, and he also wore a traditional dark green rob, "and this is Ren!"

"And what does Ren have?" Jaune asked. In response Ren flung his arms down, two dark green machine pistols with a blade attached under the handle. Nodding, Jaune said, "Those will work." By now Ruby, Wiess, and Yang and made their way back to the ruins, the Deathstalker still trapped but the Nevermore circling around. "Okay, we can't beat the Grimm…"Jaune began.

"So we take a relic and get back to Beacon." Ruby finished. The two stepped into the ruins and looked at what chess pieces were left. Both quickly made their selections, Ruby choosing the white knight while Jaune opted for the white rook. Nodding to each other, the Jaune and Ruby rejoined the group.

"Everyone ready?" Jaune asked. After a collective yell of yes, she continued. "It's a straight shot to Beacon cliff, stay together and we should all make it through this. Now let's kick this initiation's butt!" After another cry of yes the group began charging forward, Ruby leading the way.

As Jaune got ready to move up towards Pyrrha, he noticed Blake and Yang hanging towards the back of the group, the blond with a smile on her face. Dropping back a little, Jaune asked, "Proud of your sister growing up?" Yang looked shocked for half a second before Jaune said, "Seven sisters, remember? And quite a few of them have better talents than me." Seeing Pyrrha beginning to pull away, Jaune knew he needed to end the one-sided conversation. "Well, see ya later Yang, don't forget that you've got to live through this if you want to go on our date."

As Jaune raced ahead, he didn't see Yang's grin grow, or her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. Her partner however did, and couldn't stop a snigger from escaping her lips. "What?" Yang questioned Blake.

"Nothing," the girls said as she looked forward and saw how close Jaune and Pyrrha were running together, "just that this should be an interesting year if the entrance exam is anything to go off of."

* * *

With a little bit of luck, and aura to the legs, the group of eight had managed to almost make it to Beacon cliff, yet the two Grimm were still on their tail. Taking shelter in the ruins of a massive aqueduct, Jaune watched as the Nevermore landed on the ruins of a giant spire. Really it wouldn't be so bad as the group could maneuver around the beast, except for the fact there was a giant chasm separating the cliff from the forest with a narrow bridge to the spire the only way to get across. As Jaune tried to think of a new battle plan, the Deathstalker reappeared behind the group. "Everyone, Plan A"

As Jaune, Pyrrha, Yang, and Ruby rushed forward, the Nevermore took flight and launched a volley of feathers. Leaping to the front, Jaune expanded his shield and managed to deflect the majority of the projectiles until Nora was able to launch her grenades. Confident the rest of the group could destract the Deathstalker to allow Nora to escape, Jaune kept running to the bridge, only stopping when Pyrrha turned around to fire at the beast with her rifle, Ren soon joining her to fire a few shots before the entire group once more had to run forward.

Once everyone was regrouped, the eight began running towards Beacon cliff, only for the Nevermore to fly low and take out several of the support columns. Thankfully no one fell to the chasm below, but Pyrrha and Ren were left stranded to deal with the Deathstalker. Speaking his mind, Jaune said, "We've got to get over there."

Nora evidently had an idea and said, "Hang on fearless leader." The girl's grenade launcher shifted into a warhammer. Having an idea what was about to happen, Jaune deployed his shield and braced for impact, his body rocketing towards the Grimm. Thankfully he had enough sense to use the opportunity presented to him holding his sword out straight and letting the blade sink down to the hilt in one of the beast's eyes, although he had to let go of it or else get skewered by the stinger. When Pyrrha and Ren provided him an opportunity, Jaune quickly looked back to check on Nora, only to see that she had used her hammer to destroy part of the walkway, then fired one of her grenades on the now uneven surface to travel across the gap. He also briefly noted the others fighting the Nevermore, but he had to focus on the Deathstalker.

As Nora rejoined Jaune's group, the beast tried to attack with one of its claws, only for Jaune to block it with his shield. Pyrrha used the opportunity to shift her sword into a javelin and launch it into another one of its eyes while Ren climbed onto the Grimm, shimmed up its tail, and began firing at the stinger at close range. However, the boy didn't have that good a grip on the tail and was soon flung forward into Nora's waiting arms.

"Ren!" The girl cried as she got ready to unleash her wrath.

"Wait!" Jaune yelled. "We can't use explosives, we're already on unstable ground!"

"Then what's the plan?" Ren asked as he stood back up with Nora's help.

As he and Pyrrha blocked another one of the Grimm's double clawed strikes, Jaune noticed the beast's stinger and slowly a plan formed in his mind. As the teens battled against the beast's strength, Jaune asked his partner, "Your semblance has something to do with magnetism, doesn't it?" Pyrrha was about to ask how Jaune knew that, but the Arc didn't give her time, "When we move back I need you to get our weapons." When Pyrrha nodded, he turned his attention to Ren, "When I say so, aim for its eyes." When the boy nodded, Jaune yelled the last order to Nora, "Nora, you'll know what to do, have the hammer ready."

With everyone ready, Jaune yelled, "On my go! 3…2…1…GO!" Like a well-oiled machine, Pyrrha and Jaune gave one last shove before the girl used her semblance to retrieve the pair's blades. "Ren!" Acting immediately, the quite boy fired at the Grimm's remaining eyes, only for the beast to bring its claws forward and shield itself, however, this was just what Jaune wanted. Rushing forward alongside his partner, Jaune took one side of the Deathstalker and stabbed his sword into its exposed flank, dragging the blade with him as he ran down the length of the Grimm's body, Pyrrha mirroring his actions on the other side. When the pair meet behind the Grimm, Jaune pointed to the damaged stinger. Immediately knowing the plan, Pyrrha threw her shield at the weakened joint, completely severing the stinger. As the deadly weapon began falling through the air, Jaune called out, "Nora!" The hammer wielder grinned as she leaped forward. Ordinarily the Deathstalker would have attacked the girl, but it was already exhausted from the drawn out battle. As the stinger made contact with the Deathstalker's head, Nora brought her hammer down on it, firing a grenade for an extra push. The result? The stinger went completely through the Grimm, killing it.

Seeing their victory, almost all of the teens collapsed as the Grimm started to dissolve, no one noticing some of the Grimm's remains had floated towards Jaune, whose body absorbed the black smoke-like substance. Feeling a second wind, Jaune hopped back to his feet and said, "Alright, that's one down so let's go help the girls with the Nevermore."

"Jaune." Ren said as he pointed towards Beacon cliff, where Ruby was currently running up the rock face, dragging the Nevermore behind her and once she reached the top, decapitated the Grimm.

Although impressed by the younger girl's feat, Jaune soon started groaning.

"What's the matter Jaune-Jaune?" Nora asked, "Upset Ruby took out a Grimm in a more bad ass way than you did?"

"No," Jaune replied, "I just realized we have to somehow get across the chasm, and then climb the cliff."

"Oh, I can help with that silly!" Nora declared as she got her hammer ready.

Realization hit the three other teens instantly, and all cried out in a collective, "NORA NO!"

"NORA YES!" The girl cried as she hit the group with a full force. Thankfully the teen's aura took most of the damage, but all three would be bruised for a few days. That was the least of their concerns as the rapidly approached Beacon cliff. Thinking quickly, all three got their weapons out and sunk the blades into the rock face, sliding down a bit.

Once they stopped, Jaune looked back to see Nora smashing the edge of the cliff to give herself some air and a platform to launch off of. As he watched the girl sail overhead, Jaune turned to Ren and said, "Please tell me she isn't always like this."

"She isn't always like this." Ren quickly replied.

"Really?" Jaune asked hopefully.

"No," Jaune could feel his good mood disappear, "I was just telling you what you wanted to hear. Now let's climb out of here." Ren finished.

* * *

After a long climb, Jaune wasn't too upset about having to take a Bullhead back to Beacon. Once back on the ground, he and the other teens were rushed to the ballroom where the team placement had already started. As the teens found an empty space large enough for all of them, they saw Ozpin talking to four boys on stage. "Russel Thrush," Jaune guessed he was boy with the pale green Mohawk, dark green sleeveless shirt, and spiked shoulder pad, "Cardin Winchester," he was the tallest of the boys, with an orange flattop and wearing heavy armor over a black shirt, "Dove Bronzewing," this was the light brown haired boy with the perminant squint and the tan armor, "and Sky Lark," this was the boy with the straight, combed back blue hair and blue eyes, his armor a dark gery, "the four of you retrived the black bishop pieces." Ozpin continued. "From this day forward you four shall be Team CRDL (Cardinal), led by Cardin Winchester." The crowd clapped politely as boys left the stage.

After a brief moment, Ozpin called out, "Jaune Arc, Li Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie," as the four stepped onto the stage, Ozpin said, "the four of you retrieved the white rook pieces, from this day forward you shall be Team JNPR (Juniper), led by Jaune Arc." As everyone clapped, Jaune stood still, shocked that Pyrrha had been passed over to lead. He was soon brought back to his senses as his partner gave him a good natured punch on the shoulder, with Jaune barely able to stay on his feet. Seeing he once more had his attention, Ozpin smiled as he said, "Congratulations young man." The head master then made a small shooing motion with his hand, Team JNPR taking it as their cue to get off the stage.

Once the stage was clear again, Ozpin called out the final four names, "Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long," when the four girls were on stage, the man continued, "you four retrieved the white knight pieces, therefore you shall be Team RWBY (Ruby), led by Ruby Rose." While both Ruby and Wiess looked shocked at the announcement, Yang didn't waste anytime in tackling her little sister in a hug and telling her how proud she was.

Smiling at the behavior, Ozpin cleared his throat, signaling the girls to leave the stage before he finished his duties. "And that concludes the welcoming ceremony to all new students of Beacon. On behalf of all the faculty of this academy, I wish you luck for the next four years. Now get to bed, you have certainly earned it."

* * *

After being guided to their dorm room, Team JNPR elected to unpack tomorrow after class and just head straight to bed. So exhausted were the teens that they didn't even bother with sleepwear, and Jaune and Pyrrha barely managed to get out of their armor. As Jaune's head hit the pillow, he immediately feel asleep.

Opening his eyes, Jaune found himself in what appeared to be some woods. Noticing a familiar rock formation, the boy spoke aloud, "Weird, these look like the woods back home."

Before the boy could register what was happening, he saw a black blur heading towards him. When the object collided with him, the knight was knocked backwards, and then pinned to the ground by something. Looking to his chest, the Arc saw a familiar set of talons, one of them bent upwards. Although fearful, Jaune turned his gaze upward to see a familiar Griffon glaring at him. As if the dream wasn't already an nightmare, the Grimm spoke in a deep, menacing voice, " _ **Hello you little shit, you and I have got a lot to talk about.**_ "

Even though this was only a dream, Jaune did the most rational thing. He screamed.

* * *

 **Wow, 18 pages and chapter two is done. Not my longest work, but I'm happy with it.**

 **So we breezed through the first few episodes of RWBY, and now we can begin the schooling. I have a few ideas of lessons not featured in the show, but they are still very early in the idea process so we'll see how they evolve and fit into the story.**

 **Aside from making new friends, Jaune also has a visit from something from his past. I wonder how this will affect his time at Beacon? That is just one question among many, such as…**

 **How is the Grimm in Jaune's head?**

 **What is the Arc's semblance?**

 **Which girl will win his heart?**

 **All these questions and more will be answered in future chapters of** _ **A Grimm Arc**_ **!**

 **But while we wait, here's acw28 saying, "until next update."**


	3. First Day and First Steps

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with a new update for** _ **A Grimm Arc**_ **!**

 **So first up, sorry it took so long to update. Between finishing up research papers, studying for finals, and working on other stories I haven't had too much free time. However, last night I couldn't stop thinking about a few scenes for this story and it made me very excited to write more.**

 **I'm also in a bit of a rush to write as much as I can. I know I've been a little lazy this past Summer (especially after Crash came out), and I'm trying to make up for that before my classes start up next month. Unfortunately for the first two weeks of August I'm going to be away from a reliable internet connection. So, to apologize for the long wait and to thank everyone for their patients I'll reveal one of this story's biggest secrets, the pairing. For this story, the pairing for Jaune will be…multi! Before I loose readers, please consider two things. First, I will have a semi-logical reason for why/how Jaune can love multiple woman. Second, I'm not going to go overboard and pair Jaune with literally every female character, I'm actually going to keep the number small. In fact if I manage to get 41 reviews on this story I'll reveal how many girls Jaune will be with, as added incentive I'll even reveal one of the girls. Unfortunately I'll be out of town at the beginning of next month and won't be back for some time, if the goal is reached while I'm away I'll update the chapter the day I get back to a stable internet connection.**

 **Updated 8/16/17: Okay, so I'm a little late updating this, but congratulations everyone you beat my challenge! Now as promise I'll reveal a few more details about the pairing. First off, as it currently stands the number of girls Jaune will fall for is three, that number is semi-set in stone but I'm willing to be flexible if someone is able to give me a convincing enough argument to change this. Now for the part I'm sure most of you are waiting for, the first of Jaune's loves is...(drum roll please)...Pyrrha! Sorry to anyone disappointed with this but what can I say, I'm a die hard Arkos fan (although I am open to other pairings). Anyway I hope many of you are happy with this choice and for those who aren't, I offer my apologize but I'm sure you can find my (not so subtle) hints about another one of Jaune's loves.**

 **So with that longer than average AN out of the way, let's get this show on the road!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, I'm just a fan having some fun.**

* * *

Waking up with a gasp, Jaune found that for once he'd beaten the alarm. Despite being early in the morning, Jaune knew it would be a long day no matter what so he might as well get started. As he stretched, the teen couldn't believe that he was actually in Beacon, and a team leader no less! Reminded of his responsibility, Jaune swung his legs out of bed as he went around to wake up his teammates, with each person presenting their own difficulties.

Turning to his left, the Arc was concerned that Ren might have died in his sleep considering how little the other boy had moved in the night. Those fears were put to rest once Jaune gave him a light shake, Ren immediately waking up, grabbing his bathroom supplies and telling Jaune to wait until he was done with his shower before waking up Nora.

Once Ren disappeared into the bathroom, which Jaune idly noted they should really make a shower schedule so there was still hot water for the last person, Jaune went to the furthest bed from his to try and wake up Pyrrha. Unlike Ren, one half of Team JNPR's red heads had kept moving throughout the night. Over the course of the night the champion had gone from sleeping on her back to being on her stomach, one leg hanging off the side of the mattress while her head was buried beneath the pillow. Chuckling slightly, Jaune once more shook his teammates shoulder. Unlike Ren, Pyrrha gave a small groan of protest, but eventually rolled over and sat up, yawning and stretching as she welcomed the day. As his partner sat rubbing the sleep from her eyes and with a major case of bed head, Jaune couldn't help but think, 'cute' yet he didn't allow himself to continue that thought. Pyrrha was his partner, moreover they'd just meet yesterday and it was unlikely that they'd have any sort of relationship outside of friendship.

To further distract himself, Jaune moved to wake the remaining member of Team JNPR. Like Pyrrha, Nora had moved throughout the night, but to a much more significant degree. Her covers thrown to the floor and her pillow chucked across the room, it was a wonder the teen stayed asleep throughout the night and hadn't caught a could. After rolling his eyes, Jaune moved to shake her shoulder like he had his other teammates as Ren stepped out of the bathroom, yet the boy was too late to deliver a warning to his leader. As soon as Jaune touched Nora, she without warning launched a fist into the blonde teen's gut and launched him across the room, never waking up as she did so.

As Ren and Pyrrha helped pry Jaune out of the wall, the other boy began apologizing. "I'm sorry, I should have warned you that Nora is a very deep sleeper, and unless you wake her up a certain way she reacts violently."

"And just how are you suppose to wake her up?" Jaune asked as he got his breath back.

Ren didn't directly answer Jaune. Instead he moved to stand by his friend before saying, "Nora, if you don't wake up we'll run out of pancakes."

Instantly the girl bolted up with a shot of "Pancakes," any sign of sleep was gone as jumped out of bed and grabbed Pyrrha. "Come on Pyrrha, we'll save time by sharing the shower and get to breakfast faster!" Although the champion tried to protest, Nora didn't seem to hear any of it as she dragged her fellow red head into the bathroom, leaving Jaune and Ren alone in the dorm room trying to figure out what happened. Deciding it was too early for this, and hearing what he thought was a whistle from across the hall, Jaune gathered his cleaning supplies and uniform as he waited his turn. Thankfully it seemed that both Nora and Pyrrha were the type of woman to not take long showers, or perhaps it was due to Nora's prodding that the two were done so fast, either way Jaune was happy to still have hot water for his turn.

As he climbed into the shower, Jaune idly recalled his dream from the previous night, snorting to himself at how outrageous it was. Seriously, who had ever heard of a talking Grimm?

' _ **Well you for starters**_.' A voice replied in Jaune's head, causing the boy to cry out in alarm.

"Jaune? Are you alright?" Pyrrha called to her pratner.

"Fine, just thought I saw a rat!" Jaune called back as he tried to assure himself he wasn't going crazy.

' _ **Nope, not yet at least you shit**_ **.** ' The same voice replied.

"Just who are you?" Jaune whispered.

' _ **Why don't you take a wild guess?**_ ' The voice taunted.

Realization came quickly to Jaune, "You're the Griffon I killed when I was younger, the one that was in my dream last night."

The voice gave a chuckle before replying, ' _ **Yes, and no. It's a little more complicated than that. I'll explain it better when we have more time, but for now you should get going. Also a word of advice so you don't seem so crazy, you can talk to me in your head.**_ ' With that the Griffon grew silent, despite Jaune's continued efforts to communicate. Eventually he took the advice and finished his shower and dressed, stepping out into the dorm room. From there the team unpacked what few personal belongings they brought with them, Jaune and Pyrrha left much of their things at home while Ren and Nora didn't have much to begin with, before Jaune started explaining everyone's schedule's. After twenty minutes of explaining to Nora of how she couldn't share every class with Ren and that the boy wasn't abandoning her, the group heard someone yelling across the hall.

"It's 8:55 you dunce!" Weiss yelled at her team leader before running out into the hallway. Team JNPR had leaned out of their doorway to see what the commotion was, the remainder of Team RWBY doing the same across the hall until Ruby decided to follow her partner's lead.

It took Jaune for a minute to connect everything, at which point he panicked. Quickly turning to his team the blonde said, "Come on, we can't be late on the first day."

As the team ran down the hall, Nora spoke up, "I really don't see a problem with that."

"You don't, but the instructors will." Ren calmly told the girl as the teens made a mad dash outside and towards the classrooms.

* * *

Thankfully no one from either Team RWBY or JNPR were late that day. The classes offered at Beacon are similar to many other schools; math, various sciences, writing, and a myriad of other subjects. However on that first day, Jaune found three classes interesting either due to the instructor who taught the course or by how unique it was to the Huntsmen education.

* * *

After the first few uneventful periods spent alone, Jaune next walked to his history class. Arriving a bit early, he was pleased to see not only his partner, but also Weiss and Blake. Unfortunately since his previous class was on the other side of campus Jaune was one of the last to arrive, the only available seats being in the front of the room. The teen had just enough time to observe a world map with various articles pinned onto it behind the teacher's desk, the furniture itself having countless stacks of paper as decoration, before he found some papers being placed in front of him.

"Here you are." A teenage bunny faunus girl with long brown hair said with a hint of an accent. "Dr. Oobleck likes to make last minute changes to his syllabus."

"Thanks," Jaune said, "I'm glad my fellow first years are so kind."

"Oh, I'm not a Freshmen," the girl said, "I'm a second year and your TA for this class." She then held out her hand as she introduced herself, "I'm Velvet Scarlatina, nice to meet you mister?"

Taking the offered limb, Jaune shook the hand as he replied, "Jaune Arc, and likewise."

Velvet gave the teen a smile and headed back to her own seat as a thought struck her, 'Arc, now where have I heard that name before?' Before she could find an answer, the bell rang and a green blur raced into the classroom.

Seeing the professor, Jaune and most of the room could honestly say this wasn't what they were expecting. Before the class stood a bespectacled man with wild green hair, a white shirt only half tucked in, a yellow tie and a green thermos completed the look. "Good morning to you all. I am Doctor Oobleck and it is my pleasure to be guiding you young minds in your study of history!" the man said way too fast, only pausing to take a drink from his thermos before turning and placing the container on the desk. Once facing the class again, the man began, "Now, let us quickly go over the syllbus and get a jump start on our lesson. Just because we have shortened periods today I don't see the reason not to take full advantage of our time." The instructor seemed to ignore the collective groan from his class as he started his lecture.

Once finished with the class policies and schedule, Jaune's mind began to drift as Oobleck began his lecture. Seeing that the professor was covering material that the teen had already learned back in his general classes. For perhaps twenty minutes the knight just tried to follow Doctor Oobleck as the caffeine-addict around the room until the man stood in front of the boy. "Mr Arc, since you are paying attention, then why don't you enlighten the class as to who lead the defense of Portown during the 'Conflict of Kings'?"

'Wow, he certainly got there fast.' Jaune thought. Portown had been one of the last topics covered while he was back in Arcadia. Still he wasn't worried, the answer was something everyone in his home town knew, hell it was something every Arc learned before they turned ten. Without hesitation Jaune answered, "General Charlemagne Ashton."

"Incorrect," Oobleck all but shouted at the poor teen, "if you had been paying attention then you would know that the correct answer is Lieutenant Winchester." The man probably would have been content to continue telling Jaune off, had the bell not wrung. "Really has it been that long already, any way class dismissed." While the rest of the students left the room, Jaune stayed seated. "Can I help you with something Mr. Arc?"

"What source are you using for your lectures?" Jaune asked.

"Tong's _History of Remnent_." Oobleck answered, causing Jaune to raise an eyebrow.

"You really trust that racist worldview?"

"I'll admit that the text has its flaws," Oobleck conceded, well aware of the author's rather hostile attitude to faunus, "however it is by far the most accurate representation of the collective knowledge of events preceding 'The Great War.'"

Now Jaune remembered just how well Atlas propaganda operated, and how easy a few men could change history. "And the researcher in you never questioned why the previous victories attributed to Lieutenant Winchester were works of military brilliance while his campaigns after Portown often ended in disaster while his few remaining victories were due to overwhelming force with a high number of causulties?" Jaune challenged.

"Of course I have asked that question, but there exists no other evidence to support any other sequence of events." The professor then glared at the still seated teen as he stated, "I know of your name Mr. Arc, and I respect those of your family who have come before. But it you believe that name entitles you to special treatment then we will be having some issues, do I make myself clear boy?"

"Crystal," Jaune said as he stood up, "I was just curious where you were getting your information. Please don't worry Professor,"

"Doctor." Oobleck interrupted.

"Doctor Oobleck," Jaune corrected, "you won't have any more issues with me. Now if you'll excuse me, I really should be getting to my next class before my teammates start to worry." As he left, the Arc made a mental note to make a call home later for a very specific reason.

* * *

After the small excitement in Oobleck's classroom, it had been a light jog across campus for Jaune's next class, Combat Class held in the arena. Surprisingly the rest of his team was there, along with Team RWBY, and what seemed to be all of the first years. The knight was curious if there was some kind of scheduling error that overbooked this class, until Glynda Goodwitch walked into the center of the arena.

"Hello children," the woman began as she brought out her scroll, "this is the arena where you're combat instruction classes will be held. So that the staff may take an equal assessment of everyone, you will all participate in each class." Already several hushed conversations broke out in the seats as to how this would be possible, the answer came from the instructor. "As I'm sure many of you had noticed, this class is allotted three times as much time as your other periods, that is because of the large size and the need to share the arena with the second, third, and fourth years. To compensate for this the arena has a rotating schedule, every fourth day you are to report here, the other three you may use that time as a free period to complete assignments, study, or just relax." Already there were several cheers of such a large free period in the crowd. This lasted until Goodwitch swatted her riding crop in the air, somehow still making an intimidating smacking sound.

"Make no mistake," the woman continued as she pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, "you are expected to be productive each and every day, there is no way for you to pass your exams if you are not. Now, as I'm sure you've noticed today we have shortened periods to serve as introductions to your classes, however we should still have some time for a single exhibition match. Do we have any volunteers?"

"I'll do it," a voice in the back called. Jaune turned to an extremely tall and extremely buff red headed boy with a flat top already wearing heavy armor with a large bird motif on the chest plate. If memory served his name was Cardin…something-or-other. Cardin then continued as he pointed at Team JNPR and for a second Jaune thought the punk was going to try and measure himself against Pyrrha, but instead he pointed to Jaune and said, "but only if I get to fight him."

Goodwitch seemed to consider the request before asking Jaune, "Are you alright with this arrangement Mr. Arc?" When the teen nodded his consent, the woman commanded, "Very well, please change into your combat clothes and proceed to the arena."

* * *

It only took a few minutes for Jaune to take off his uniform's blazer, strap on his light armor, and retrieve his family sword, but Cardin was already waiting for him in the arena with a huge mace resting across his right shoulder. Once Jaune was in the ready position, Glynda pressed a few buttons on her scroll before the lights in the seats went down and a large screen turned on. "As we are using arena rules, normally fights would last until aura depletion, knock out, or a ring out. However today we are short on time so this match will have a time limit of twenty minutes. Mr. Arc are you ready?" When Jaune nodded the instructor turned to his opponent, but the taller teen nodded his head before the question could be asked. After huffing lightly at such impatience, Goodwitch started the countdown as she commanded, "Then begin!"

Jaune and Cardin rushed at each other, meeting in the center of the arena. Seeing Cardin coming in for a back handed blown, Jaune matched the movement with Crocea Mors, the blade sliding along the shaft of the mace until the other weapon was caught on the pommel. Despite being dead even in the struggle, Jaune could already tell his Aura took a hit with the initial blow. Cardin just ginned as he brought his other hand to his weapon, pushing against the sword with more force and forcing Jaune to take a step back to stay upright.

"This is where you belong," Cardin stated, "you and anyone else who forgets my family's glory."

Confused, Jaune hazard a glance at the large screen, where he learned his opponent's full name, Cardin Winchester. 'Well this is going to be fun.' the blonde thought sarcastically before noticing Cardin shift his weight slightly to launch a knee strike. Seeing the blow coming, Jaune disengaged from the deadlock when Cardin tried to knee him and swept Cardin's remaining leg and giving a quick swing across the other boy's chest as he fell.

Despite his large size, Cardin quickly stood back up, but Jaune now kept his distance. Frustrated Cardin began swinging his mace wildly as he advanced towards Jaune, either hoping for a lucky hit or to force a ring out. The knight watched his opponent carefully before choosing the right moment to move, ducking under the mace when Cardin over extended and rushing behind the other teen, being sure to leave a parting slice across the red head's back as he went.

This pattern continued for several more exchanges. Although it was clear that Jaune was landing more blows and slowly but surely bringing down Cardin's health, the fight wasn't completely one sided as Cardin's mace managed to hit Jaune a few times, mostly a few glancing blows on the blonde's shoulders. Finally Cardin decided to switch it up once more. With a battle cry, Cardin sent his mace into the floor, the red crystal glowing before launching a wave fo fire straight at Jaune. Despite the gasps from the audience, Jaune remained calm and combat rolled out of danger, hoping back to his feet right as Cardin rushed forward to try and deliver an overhead strike. Jaune responded by advancing into the swing, blocking the blown with his shield and landing a forward thrust in the center of Cardin's chest.

As Cardin gritted his teeth in anger, he tried to hit Jaune with his free hand. Although missing the intended target of Jaune's face, the bigger teen managed a lucky hit and grazed Jaune's wrist. Unfortunately the blonde's body acted on reflex and he dropped his sword. Cardin smirked at the small victory, but he lost that smile once Jaune shield bashed him across the face and knocked his opponent to their knee. Jaune was prepared to deliver an overhead strike with his free hand when a loud buzzer sounded.

"And that's the match." Glynda declared as she walked in between the boys, the screen behind her showing that both teens had roughly forty percent of their Aura's remaining. "Despite Mr. Winchester landing several devastating blows, had this been a tournament fight the judges would have likely awarded Mr. Arc the victory for landing multiple blows and adapting to his opponent more successfully. However, for today it will be a tie." She then turned her attention to the two boys still glaring at each other, "Now you two put your gear back in your lockers and freshen up without causing any incidents, then you may leave for lunch with the rest of your class."

Thankfully Cardin didn't start anything, and Jaune didn't have to finish anything. At least for today.

* * *

After a semi-uneventful lunch, Nora did like to tell the others stories about her outrages dreams, Jaune went to his final few classes of the day, of which he was almost completely by himself. Thankfully in his last class, Grimm Studies taught by Professor Peter Port, Jaune spotted the entirety of Team RWBY setting in the row below him. After returning the wave from Ruby and Yang, the Arc took his seat and looked at the large white boards at the front of the class room, each containing a detailed drawing of a different Grimm species and a few notes about the beasts.

Right as the bell rang Professor Port, a heavy set, gray haired man with an impressive mustache wearing a red and gold trimmed suit jacket and either a large red tie or ascot tucked under the neckline. Like the rest of the teachers, Port didn't waste his time and began his introduction in a deep, booming voice, "Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I simply refer to them as prey." The man paused to laugh at his own joke, he was also the only person to find any humor in it. Continuing, Port said, "And you shall to once you graduate from this prestigious academy!"

As the professor kept talking, Jaune felt his eyelids growing heavy, only to be awoken by a familiar voice, ' _ **Boy, this one sure like to talk, almost as much as the green haired one.**_ '

Just barely keeping himself from jumping out of his seat when he heard the still unexplained voice. 'So nice of you to finally speak up!' he mentally yelled.

The teen could almost feel someone shrugging their shoulders as they said, ' _ **You seemed to be busy before, but since you aren't listening to Professor Blowhard I figured now was as good a time as any to assure you that you aren't going crazy.**_ '

'Thanks, nice knowing I have a completely rational voice in my head instead of a psychotic one.' Jaune was about to roll his eyes only to see Port give Yang a semi-flirty wink, causing him to unconsciously growl low in his throat. Quickly stopping himself before drawing too much attention, the teen absent mindedly thought, 'Well I've certainly never done that before.'

' _ **Do you not remember anything I told you last night?**_ ' the voice demanded.

'Wait, that dream was real? So you are actually that Griffon?'

' _ **Of course it was real you moron! As was everything I told you!**_ '

'So the fights back home?' Jaune began, feeling someone nodding their head.

' _ **A result of being corrupted by a Grimm, your instincts to protect your flock became greater than they were before, not to mention you became more vicious in your fighting.**_ '

'Okay, earlier you said it was more complicated than you simply being a Grimm. Seeing as how we aren't going to be doing anything productive today do you mind actually explaining this to me?' Jaune half asked, half demanded.

' _ **Fine**_ ,' the voice began, ' _ **to put it bluntly there's a reason Huntsmen and Huntresses have Aura, it's to stop a Grimm from infecting them. You see when you killed me my previous body your family sword absorbed it. If you had an unlocked Aura that would be the end of it, but since you were unprepared the blade instead allowed me to travel further, going into your body, your mind, your soul.**_ '

Now extremely alarmed, Jaune demanded, 'So what, you're trying to brainwash me? Take over my body?" He was even more shocked when a loud laugh was his reply.

' _ **Why do I need to take over myself? Face it kid we aren't two separate entities, we merged that day so many years ago. You see,**_ ' the voice began to explain, ' _ **while you got certain aspect from me such as your protectiveness and love of the sky, I gained something equally as valuable from you, sentience. Usually a Grimm needs to be very powerful and very old before it can operate on more than instincts. I tried to rebel when the merge first began, but as I gained your knowledge, I realized that this was beneficial to me.**_ ' Here Jaune raised an eyebrow as the voice continued, ' _ **Strange I know, but as I thought about it I realized that I had gained a mind, but even more so I would never feel the hunger again. So I allowed the merge to happen, I became a part of you, more specifically your Semblance and a part of your mind.**_ '

'What do you mean, my Semblance? And what part of my mind?' Jaune asked.

' _ **I overrode your genes to give you several Grimm-like abilities, such as sensing the negativity of other Grimm, an extremely high pain tolerance, gaining strength from defeated Grimm, among others that I'm sure you'll discover as you grow stronger.**_ ' Once more Jaune felt the voice smirk as he said, ' _ **As for which part of your mind, I'm sure you can figure it out, after all creatures of Grimm think of nothing but violence and chaos, and perhaps something else if we shared all mammalian organs**_.'

The realisation of what the voice meant almost caused Jaune to smash his head into the table, 'Dear God I've got a Grimm as my Id! I don't want to become a murdering psychopath.'

' _ **Oh relax will you. I've been in your head since you were eight, the only change now is that you can hear me.**_ ' the voice lectured.

'Good to know.' Jaune said with an eye roll, nice to know he didn't have a completely murderous Grimm in his head. 'You know what, it's getting to be too much of a hassle to just refer to you as 'the voice,' as long as you're in my head I'm calling you Ed.'

' _ **Really, just changing one letter are we? Well aren't you a cleaver boy?**_ '

Jaune would have responded with something clever if Professor Port hadn't spoken up, "So who among you believes themselves to be the embodiments of these traits?" Only now did Jaune see a large metal cage of to the side of the classroom, his senses telling him a Grimm was locked inside.

'Now how did I not notice that?' The boy questioned himself as he began to raise his hand, only for Ed to sharply yell at him.

' _ **What the fuck do you think you're doing!**_ '

'Volunteering to fight the Grimm,' Jaune replied as if it was the simplest thing in the world, 'I'm not one to turn away a power boost.'

While the two were having the internal conversation, Weiss had practically jumped out of her seat to take Port's test, the man chuckling at his student's enthusiasm before dismissing her to change into her combat attire, returning shortly afterwards.

As Port busted the lock off the cage and released the beast, a Boaratusk charged out and headed straight to Weiss. As Jaune idly watched the fight, noting that Weiss had some skill but defiantly needed to be nicer to Ruby, he asked Ed, 'So why is it you don't want me down there to get stronger? I could have easily beaten the pig.'

' _ **Yes, and then everyone will see you absorbing the defeated Grimm. How long will it be until you become an outcast? How long until Ozpin is "convinced" to let Atlas take you to be "studied"? Oh looks like pork chop is done.**_ ' Indeed the Grimm had been defeated by Weiss who used her glyphs to first stop the Gimm-boar from charging and then launched herself forward and stabbed into its unprotected belly.

"Bravo, bravo!" Port called from the sidelines, "We are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress! Well that is all the time we have today. Remember to do your assigned readings and that full and rotating classes begin next Monday!" With that the man left the room, the students following after him. Jaune noted Weiss stalking away into one of the less crowded hallways with Ruby following after her to try and talk. Although he felt like he should intervene and help his friend, the boy knew that this was something Ruby needed to deal with by herself.

* * *

After a few minutes of walking Jaune had made it back to his team's dorm room and had caught up with the rest of his team. As they chatted about their classes and changed out of their uniforms and into their casual clothes, someone knocked on the door. Being the closest, Pyrrha answered it, smiling when she saw who was on the other side, "Hi Yang, what can I do for you?"

Yang returned the smile as she replied, "Well maybe we could have a sparring match sometime tomorrow seeing as it's the weekend, but right now I need to borrow your partner."

Interested in what was going on, Jaune leaned towards the doorway to see his fellow blonde holding a large white bag, also instead of wearing her usual brown boots she had on a pair of black buckle boots that stopped at her ankles. "Geez, when you said first free time you really meant it, didn't you?" Jaune asked as he slipped past his partner who he quickly explained the situation to, "Sorry Pyrrha, I kinda barfed on Yang's boots on the ride to Beacon and I promised to pay for the cleaning. I promise not to be out too late." he finished with a joke.

The champion only smiled at her partner as she said, "You better not me, Nora will be disappointed if we can't go on the hike because you decided to sleep in."

Knowing this talk may last forever, Yang decided to just grab Jaune's arm and drag him away. Thankfully the knight was able to keep pace with Yang before they got to the first stairwell, but the rest of the walk was filled with silence. After maybe twenty minutes the duo arrived at their destination, the Beacon Parking Garage. As many of the professors commuted from Vale the building was a necessity, it also allowed the few students who owned a vehicle to store it on campus for a small fee.

Raising an eyebrow, Jaune asked, "You own a car?" Truthfully he was just glad he didn't have to fly again in a Bullhead.

Yang gave a short laugh as they walked through the structure, "Please, I own a bike." Her she stopped in front of her pride and joy, Bumblebee a yellow and orange motorcycle. "Jaune, meet Bumblebee."

Now it was Jaune's turn to laugh as he asked, "What kind of name is that?"

Yang would have hit him had the boy not moved to inspect the motorcycle. Instead she explained, "I got my first bike from my Dad when I was six and called it Bumblebee, and then the next on, and the one after that, it's a tradition." Seeing her friend kneeling down to get a better look at the engine, Yang asked, "So what do you think?"

"Looks like a Vale special but given the double air intakes I'm guessing you swapped out the factory motor for something a bit more powerful, a Dragon's Fire 580 maybe?" He then stood up but continued, "And given the weight of the bike but lack of a kickstand I'm guessing you've also got a gyro-scope stabilizing system."

Yang whistled before saying, "Wow, I don't know many people who can tell all of that just by looking at my baby."

Jaune just shrugged as he said, "Me and my Dad would find old motorcycles and fix them up before auctioning them off for charities. Mom wasn't too happy about us being grease monkey's in the garage, but she likes it better than me riding them."

Yang shook her head in agreement as she took her seat and put her helmet on, "Yeah, my Dad wasn't too happy when Uncle Qrow first gave me Bumblebee, even less so when he found out I planned to make her even faster. Really the only reason he let me keep my baby is that I agreed to put the balance system in." She then handed Jaune her spar helmet for the rare occasions Ruby would hitch a ride. "Well come on then, we've got to get to the city before everything closes."

Of course both knew that almost every shop in Vale was open 24/7, but Jaune didn't bring that up as he accepted the helmet and sat on the motorcycle behind Yang, his hands gripping her shoulders. Yang once more smirked as she said, "You know you can get a better grip if you go lower." Her grin grew as she heard Jaune gulp and felt him hesitantly wrap his arms around her midsection. She swore, sometimes it was just too easy to tease the boy.

* * *

With the speed of Yang's driving, Jaune could see why her father wanted as many safety features in Bumblebee as possible. That isn't to say Yang is a bad driver, just that she has a tendency to go over the speed limit by a very large margin. Never the less the pair arrived in Vale before spending some time trying to find a cleaner. Eventually they found one in a shopping center, but were stuck waiting an hour before the boots were cleaned. As such the two entertained themselves as best they could with a standby teenage activity, window-shopping.

That is how Jaune found himself standing in the center of what must have been the fifth clothing story he'd walked into in the past twenty minutes. The others at least had some theme to them, this one just looked like a mix and mash of various styles. Before he could critique the store's selection anymore, Yang called from the dressing room. Turning around to look at the curtain covered area, he heard his friend ask, "Hey lover boy, what do you think of these?" With a flourish Yang pulled the curtain aside, to show she was wearing a red and black bikini.

Jaune knew what she was trying to do, and he did have to admit that she looked good, but it wouldn't work on him. Instead of getting flustered, he calmly stated, "Red's not really your color, maybe you should stick with the yellow." Yang's jaw actually dropped at how calm Jaune was being, causing the boy to grin and turn back to looking through the men's section. "I've got a mom and seven sister, three of whom love to go swimming, you're going to need to try harder than that."

With a laugh, Yang closed the curtain as she yelled back, "You can be such a jerk, you know that?"

Jaune didn't respond save for a small chuckle, but Ed decided to give his two lien, ' _ **What do you think you're doing? You should have gone over there and offered to help the woman get out of that bikini!**_ '

'First, there's no way I'm doing _that_ in public.' Jaune replied, 'There's also the fact that I know Yang doesn't think of me in that way.'

' _ **You don't know that for sure, and you'll never know if you don't try**_.' Ed quickly countered, ' _ **Come on kid, grow some balls! I know you've thought about how quite a few of the ladies you've seen would look like minus some clothes, although you've really only given serious thoughts to a few**_.'

'I am not having this conversation with my Id.' Jaune stated as he ignored what else Ed had to say. Instead he found some random long sleeved band shirts and decided turnabout was fair play. Purposefully grabbing a size too small, Jaune went to the dressing room next to Yang's and changed before waiting to hear his friend finish up. Once he heard Yang step out, he followed suit and asked, "Hey Yang, how does this look on me?"

Yang turned and felt her jaw drop at how the shirt clung to Jaune almost like a second skin, highlighting the abs and other muscles that his hoodie and armor liked to hide. However there was one small detail that stopped Yang from outright drooling on the floor. Surprising a snigger with all her might, Yang said, "I didn't know you were a _Screaming Pandas_ fan."

The teasing smile dropped from Jaune's face as he looked down to see a quartet of what could only be described as pretty boys printed on the shirt. Looking back up, the two blondes locked eyes for a second before Jaune offered, "You forget about this and I don't tell anyone of your bikini stunt?"

"Deal." Yang agreed as she started walking towards the counter with the few items she chose to get. Jaune hurriedly changed back into his regular clothes before joining her at the counter. Once there, something caught his eye. It was a simply necklace, a black chord with a silver bat-like casing holding a purple stone. As Yang finished paying, the boy grabbed it and went to another register to pay.

As the pair started walking out of the store, Jaune held out the necklace to his friend with a simple, "Here, for you."

When she saw Jaune buying the jewelry she thought that her friend was buying it for one of his sisters. Although a little surprised at the offer, Yang quickly replied, "No Jaune, I couldn't accept it, that probably cost you a few hundred lien."

"I insist," Jaune stated, "you're my friend and I don't feel paying for cleaning your boots is enough to make up for it." Seeing how Yang was still hesitant in accepting the gift, Jaune sighed before saying, "If it's because of the cost, don't worry about. Let's just say my family is well off and leave it at that."

Now even more curious, Yang stated, "That tends to be something guys flaunt around trying to get girls."

Shrugging his shoulders, Jaune countered, "I'm here to continue my family's legacy, not milk it."

Finally relenting, Yang accepted the necklace saying, "Well it does match my eyes, but let's keep this our little secret. Now come on, my boots should be done by now."

* * *

After the drive back to Beacon, Jaune and Yang went their separate ways. While her friend opted to walk around campus in the twilight hours, Yang decided to go directly back to her dorm room to put away her purchases. Once back in the room, she wasn't surprised to see Blake reading in her bed, however she was pleasantly surprised to see her sister reading through a text book with her headphones on.

"How long has she been studying?" Yang asked her partner as she moved to the closet to put away her boots and other things.

"Since we got back from dinner." Blake replied, looking up from her book to give a quick glance at her team leader. "I'm surprised she's still going at it."

"That's my baby sister for ya," Yang replied with a grin, "once she sets herself to task she keeps going."

"And how about you?" Blake asked, "Enjoy your time in the city with Jaune?"

The blonde paused putting her things away, a certain necklace resting in her hand. With a small smile different from her usual grin, Yang said, "Yeah, it was nice."

* * *

Jaune really didn't have any destination in mind as he wondered around campus. Really he just wanted to enjoy the quiet night time air that reminded him so much of home. By chance he'd wondered near a statue depicting a Hunter and Huntress standing victorious over a Beowolf, an he was not alone.

"Something on your mind Snow Angle?" Jaune couldn't contain his smile as he saw Weiss jump.

The Schnee's surprise quickly turned to a glare as she asked, "And just what do _you_ want?"

"Nothing really," the teen stated as he stepped closer to the statue, "just enjoying the night air. You?"

"I'm just contemplating some…things that Professor Port shared." Weiss admitted while looking at her feet.

"Such as your harsh treatment of Ruby?" Jaune asked, who this statue was a good copy although really what was the point of adding the hood on the Huntress?

"She's a child!" Weiss tired defending her actions, "Plus it is expected of me to preform above the standards set by my peers, how am I to do that if I'm lead by such a dolt!"

"Yeah, Ruby is young," Jaune admitted, "but she was handpicked to be here by Headmaster Ozpin himself. I trust that the Headmaster knows what he's doing or do you believe yourself wiser than someone who's taught countless generations of Hunters and Huntresses?" Weiss had the decency to look at her feet, once more hearing the same argument Professor Port had used. "As for expectations, the thing about a legacy is that you don't have to walk the same path to honor it."

"Please," Weiss asked with an eye roll, "what would you know about upholding a legacy?"

Jaune gave a dry chuckle as he said, "Weiss, please think long and hard about my last name."

Since he hadn't used that infuriating nick-name, Weiss did as Jaune had asked. Still she didn't know what was so special about the Arc family. Just as the though appeared in her head understanding hit the teen like a ton of bricks. Pointing at Jaune, Weiss let out a gasp before saying, "Arc! You're the heir…"

But Jaune cut her off, "I'd rather you don't let that information spread around. I'm guess you could say I'm like Pyrrha, I'd like to not have any special treatment, difference is I'm not as well know." Jaune then turned on his heel and began walking to the dorms. "My dad always says that the last good Schnee was your grandfather, a man who lead from the front and wouldn't ask anyone to do what he couldn't himself. The question for you is which Schnee legacy do you want to follow? Just some food for thought."

Left alone, Weiss looked back at the statue, wondering if her hunch was correct. While Jaune seemed to be genuine, he wouldn't have been the first to lie about such a thing. Never the less, he had given her something to thing about, and she thinks she already knew the answer. 'Let's hope that Ruby is the forgiving type.' Weiss thought to herself as she started her own walk back to the dorms.

* * *

 **With fourteen pages, that's a wrap on this chapter. Not my longest work but defiantly served to advance the plot at a pace I like.**

 **So you all know my challenge, although I'm sure a few eagle eyed readers will see some of the subtle (or really not so subtle) hints about one of the other girls.**

 **Outside of that, I really don't have anything else to say right now, outside of a few questions. Questions such as…**

 **What is Jaune's connection to the statue?**

 **What call did Jaune make?**

 **Why did Weiss recognize the Arc name?**

 **One of these questions will be answered shortly, but the others will be answered in the coming chapters of** _ **A Grimm Arc**_ **!**

 **But 'til then, I'm acw28 saying, "until next update."**

* * *

EXTRA

Schooling Oobleck

In the dead of night a small aircraft approached Beacon airspace. Without any confirmation the craft landed in the courtyard outside the school's lecture halls. Once landed, the rear hatch opened as two heavily armed and armored shoulders stepped out with their assault rifles leveled, ready for any threat. Behind them stepped out a bald man in a suit, wearing sunglasses despite the bitch black sky. Handcuffed to the man's wrist was an unassuming silver briefcase. Once satisfied that there was no present threat, the soldiers nodded to the man as he walked towards the building, a soldier flanking him on either side, one pausing to open the door before following his comrades inside.

From his tower office Ozpin observed all of this but didn't lift a finger to intervene. Therefore he was unsurprised when Glynda, still wearing a night shirt and bathroom, walked into his office and demanded, "Are we going to do anything to expel the intruders?"

"No, I believe they'll leave of their own accord, provided Doctor Oobleck doesn't do anything too rash."

* * *

Doctor Oobleck was working late. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence as he often lost track of time when researching some new discovery, but now he was reviewing old information. The comments made by Mr. Arc had stuck in his head and now he was determined to find anything to either prove or refute the history that had been known for generations.

Pausing to take a sip of coffee, he caught Miss Scarlatina stifle another yawn. Poor girl, despite Oobleck saying she could leave hours ago his dutiful TA had chosen to remain and help however she could. It really was a shame that such an excellent student had gotten sick right before finals and they had to make this arrangement so that she could pass with her team. Nevertheless he was thankful for her help. As he was about to once more asked the girl to get some sleep, the classroom door was opened, the professor watching carefully as two soldiers and what seemed to be a businessman walked in, both now instantly alert and ready for anything.

"Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck?" the man with sunglasses asked.

"Yes?" the doctor asked. He wasn't surprised when the two soldiers raised their rifles and aimed straight at him. Seeing Miss Scarlatina flinch and reach for her holo-projector, Oobleck gave her a quick shake of a head to stop her, but also a smile to assure her that everything would be alright. He took a quick glance to the desk where his thermos sat. If he could catch the men unaware he could grab his weapon and take out two of them, then hold off the third as his student left for back up.

All the while the three man slowly advanced down to the ground floor. As the man in the suit reached into an interior pocket, Doctor Oobleck was prepared for him to pull out a pistol, but was surprised to see it was only a slip of paper. Reading from the paper the man said, "You are given the opportunity to look at a priceless artifact from a private collection. You are only allowed to view what has been selected in advance while wearing a pair of gloves that will be provided. If at any time you deviate from these conditions or attempt to steal the artifact you will be meet with lethal force. Is this understood?"

Now the trio were standing before the desk and Oobleck was curious to an unhealthy degree. After instantly agreeing, the man in the suit produced a pair of white gloves for the man before setting his suitcase on the desk. After typing in a code that the instructor could not see the case opened with a hiss. The suit wearing man then moved the open case so that Oobleck could see what was inside, a large black leather bound book with the words "The Journal of Charlemagne Ashton." The man then spoke up, saying, "You are permitted only to read pages 159 to 218, the rest is family secrets that the public will never know about."

Oobleck nodded his understanding as he moved to open the book. Even through his gloves, he could tell this leather felt different than anything else he'd previously held. Before he could stop himself, he asked, "Just what animal did this leather come from?"

"Grimm," the man casually said, "and before you ask, no we do not have any stuffed specimens, the formula for tanning has been lost to the family for generations although they are experimenting to find it once more, and we have enough for the next few generations to tell their tales but we are hesitant to waste any." He then gave Oobleck a pointed look from behind his sunglasses as he said, "Now read, you have a limited time."

Nodding once more, Oobleck turned the yellowing pages and began the tale. ' _It pains me to admit this, but although I and my family have served my king well for many years I must rebel. For years I have served as a general to stop rebellions from tearing the kingdom apart, but recently my scouts have informed me that a large amount of Grimm are make their way to a small village on the coast named Portown. When I asked my king to send men to help me defend the village, he said to leave it be, to let the Grimm stop a future rebellion before it starts.'_

' _I in good conscious cannot allow unarmed civilians to be slaughtered when I have the slightest chance of helping them. Last night I gathered all of my men and let them know my plan, but told them they did not have to follow me into rebellion. It warmed my heart to see almost every soldier, save for a single company lead by Winchester, to rise up and follow after me.'_

' _When I arrived at town this morning I tried to explain the situation to any who would listen, but instead I was meet with resistance as no one would listen. Finally a woman with flaming red hair stepped forward. Calling herself Hilde she chastised the other villagers, saying how my men and I didn't need to come, yet still offered assistance and rather than shun us they should listen to what we have to say. Once they learned of the Grimm threat, many were eager to follow me and take up arms to defend their home.'_

Thoroughly enchanted, Doctor Oobleck quickly read through the account of the battle, how Charlemagne saved several of his men and how he in turn was saved by Hilde. As he neared the last page he was allowed to read, the professor was surprised to see the battle had ended.

' _It is with great joy that I report that Portown has been defended. With sword and shield, with spear and pike, we have vanquished and driven the Grimm back. However I know this conflict is not over. I know my former kind will be upset with my betrayal. He will now doubt send an army to punish me and this town, then have new people move her to cover it up. We cannot stay here, as painful as it is we must flee out homes in Solitasv, our only hope is to escape to Vale and travel inland. But I cannot do this as Charlemagne Ashton, despite our disagreements I still have cousins with the name and I'd rather not endanger them. No, I need a new name.'_

' _A curious event happened as I was wonder the village. Between my men and the villagers crafting and repairing ships for our journey, I stumbled upon a man fixing a rather large ship of a style I was not familiar with. When I questioned the man, he said the ship was of a very old style, called an Arc. He also recited an ancient lesson of a man using such a vessel to ferry countless animals to a safer land. In that instant I knew the answer to a question that had been plaging me since the start of the battle. It was I who caused these people the pain and suffering of leaving their homes and lives behind for something unknown, now it is I who will inspire them with hope and led them to a brighter future. From this day forth I am no longer Charlemagne Asthon, instead let the world know me as Charlemagne Arc!'_

Right as Oobleck finished reading the final page, the man in the suit reclaimed the book. As the suitcase was being closed, Oobleck wished he had the forethought to take notes on the reading, but was pleasantly surprised when the man gave him a slip of paper. "What is this?" the green haired man questioned.

"A list of lesser known texts and archeology sites that will colloberate what you have read." The man then signaled the soldiers and the three began to leave the classroom.

As Oobleck stayed quiet skimming over the list, Velvet quietly walked closer to him and asked, "Doctor Oobleck, are you alright?"

"Positively brilliant!" Oobleck exclaimed, "With this information we can right history to the truth. It may take some years, and will no doubt be challenged, but in time this ground breaking discovery will be shared with the entire world!"

Velvet just smiled at her professor's delight before taking a glance back at the exiting men, catching two yellow, parallel arches painted upon one of the soldier's back plate. The symbol was remarkable similar to that of the one she'd seen on the shield of a rather popular online video that had just gone viral. Quickly putting the pieces together, Velvet turned back to Oobleck and asked, "Sir, with the conversation you had with Jaune today, you don't think…"

She never got to finish her question as Oobleck held up a hand and for once talked at a normal pace to ensure his message came across clearly, "Miss Scarlatina, the Arc family is one of the oldest families in all of Remnant, and one of the most respected by those who know of its history. I'd even hazard a guess to say that the Arcs are just as politically powerful, if not more so, than the Schnees. If what you are suggesting is true, then I thank Mr. Arc for allowing me to share this knowledge, but if he does not wish to make a spectacle of it then I think we should respect his wishes."

Velvet took a moment to consider Doctor Oobleck's words before ultimately smiling as she nodded, agreeing with the man. As the two got back to work sorting the loose papers around them, Velvet couldn't help but think that although she wouldn't be sharing what happened all over the web, she would still be telling Coco about what had happened tonight. After all, what's the fun of a secret if you couldn't let just one friend in on it?


	4. Victory In All Battles

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 here with a new update for A Grimm Arc!**

 **So it's been almost a year since I last updated this story, yeah sorry about that. Unfortunately I have the same thing to say as I did last time, I've been busy in real life with grad school, using my time to relax a little, and I started and worked on some other stories. Never the less, I thank everyone for sticking around with me, and I hope everyone will enjoy the chapter.**

 **Without further ado, on with the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

Jaune really needed to catch up on his sleep. For the past few months the teen had been getting up in the middle of the night, at the insistence of Ed, to sneak off to the Emerald Forest for a bit of Grimm hunting. It was slow going, but with each Beowolf slayed Jaune could feel himself gain just a bit more strength. Aside from the physical improvement, the blonde knight also found his Grimm-related abilities, such as sensing negative emotions, had increased as well. Unfortunately this growth came at the cost of sleep.

Jaune knew this problem would eventually come to a head, but didn't realize how bad he was until he found himself nodding off during combat class. Thankfully Glynda wasn't paying too much attention to the stands as she used her Scroll to set up the next match. Cardin had randomly been selected to pick his opponent. Surprisingly, the taller boy hadn't picked Jaune for the spar, instead selecting to fight Yang, probably hoping to increase his position in the class.

No matter his motivation, while Jaune tried to stay awake both Cardin and Yang stood in the arena, stretching while Glynda once more went over the rules of the spar. As the instructor used her Scroll to turn down the lights, Cardin smirked as he challenged the blond bombshell, "You ready for this blondie?"

"What, you think you're going to be able to kick my ass?" Yang replied with a snicker, "Please, I'm world class." She then settled into her fighting stance, expanding her gauntlets before declaring, "Just remember that while you started this fight, I'm the one who's going to finish it."

Cardin eagerly leapt at the challenge, coming in with a fast strike from the left, that Yang easily stepped out of range of. Cardin didn't let up, launching swing after swing, all of which Yang either ducked under, sidestepped, or generally just danced around. It soon became clear that Cardin picked a fight out of his league, this statement becoming clear when Yang actually compressed her weapons, choosing to fight barehanded.

Getting a little cocky, Yang took several steps back as she asked, "What's the matter big boy, don't tell me you've already lost all you're steam?"

With the opportunity presenting itself, Cardin launched his next attack. With Yang so far out of reach, Cardin struck the floor of the arena, using the Fire Dust gem of his mace to launch several fireballs beneath the ground, creating a wave of destruction. Easily seeing the attack coming, Yang combat rolled out of the way, but right towards Cardin. Grinning, the teen once more launched an attack at Yang, hitting his opponent's head right as she straighten up from the combat roll, the savage blow knocking off a quarter of Yang's Aura. If Yang's friends didn't want to leap into the ring after seeing the blow, what Cardin said next certainly made their blood boil. With a smirk, the arrogant teen said, "Not the kind of pounding you're used to, hey bimbo? Maybe if I'm feeling generous I'll let you have some of the good kind later."

While Glynda was quick to reprimand what Cardin had said, the words seemed to freeze Yang, her bangs covering her eyes. While ignoring his instructor, Cardin sought to capitalize on what seemed to be his advantage, launching a massive swing at Yang. Yet the blonde brawler shocked everyone as she caught the shaft of the mace barehanded. Slowly, she raised her head, revealing her normally lilac eyes had turned a fearsome crimson, her hair now glowing.

Without speaking, Yang ripped the mace from Cardin's grip, easily tossing the weapon out of bounds. Her opponent disarmed, Yang raised up her fists before quickly advancing at her befuddled opponent. With a flurry of movements too fast for many to see, Yang utterly pummeled Cardin, landing heavy blow after heavy blow on the teen's torso, taking off chunk after chunk of Cardin's Aura. Then with a flourish, Yang finished with an uppercut, launching the taller teen into the air at least three feet as his Aura visibly broke.

While Glynda congratulated Yang on her victory, she scolded Cardin on his arrogance and word choice. The blonde, however, didn't seem to hear the instructor as she exited the arena, her eyes still red. While everyone was concerned about their friend, they all knew that she could handle herself but right now needed to blow off some steam. Really Jaune wanted to look after his friend, if for no other reason than to ensure no one else set her off, but he had a more pressing concern, History with Oobleck.

* * *

He really should have expected it, but Jaune was still surprised when he fell asleep. He'd been fighting to keep his eyes open all day, but even with Oobleck's high speed the knight found himself nodding off. As he napped, Jaune couldn't help but relive some recent memories of his time at Beacon. He relived Cardin's frequent bullying, although Jaune felt pretty proud of himself for tripping Cardin when the bigger boy tried pushing the knight into a rocket locker, reversing the intended positions. Aside from that, Jaune also remembered Cardin's bullying of other students, particularly Oobleck's TA.

' _ **You should probably wake up now.'**_ Ed stated, leaving Jaune confused, at least before he felt something hit the back of his head.

"Hey!" the teen softly shouted as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah, Mr. Arc!" Oobleck exclaimed as he zoomed to stand in front of the teen. "Finally contributing to class today? Excellent, Excellent!" The man paused only to take a sip from his thermos before asking, "Now, the answer?"

"The answer…" Jaune stalled, his head rotating to catch Pyrrha trying to signal the answer to him, although the hand motions didn't make any sense. Deciding to just bite the bullet, the teen admitted, "I'm sorry Dr. Oobleck, but I wasn't paying attention."

While the man shook his head in frustration, Cardin's snickering drew Oobleck's attention, "Something to add, Mr. Winchester?"

"Well, I know it's easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin casually remarked, earning more than a few glares from his classmates, but outside some low murmurings only one person spoke up.

"You're not the most open-minded individual, are you?" Pyrrha stated more then asked.

Quickly wheeling towards his vocal critic, Cardin slammed his fist down as he challenged, "You've got something to say Nikos?"

"Yes, the answer." Turning back to Oobleck, the red head answered, "It's night vision, many Faunus are known to have near perfect sight in the dark."

While Doctor Oobleck nodded at the answer, Blake decided to add onto Pyrrha's answer, "The general was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. In short while his army outnumbered the Faunus forces, he was overconfident and outmatched, resulting in his capture." She then looked directly at Cardin as she finished, "Perhaps if the general had paid attention in class, we wouldn't remember him for being such a failure."

This caused Cardin to release a growl, but Oobleck spoke up before anything could happen, "Good answers, the both of you. As for you Mr. Winchester, please see me after class." This only caused Cardin to growl even more, but he nonetheless stayed in his seat.

Just then the bell rang, everyone scrambling out of their seats, Jaune among them. Hoping to get somewhere to clear his head, the teen didn't notice Pyrrha's attempts to catch up to the knight as he exited the classroom.

* * *

Despite not being the one to fight in combat class, Jaune still felt exhaustion as the day began to wine down. Still, as he stood on the dorm's rooftop and watched the sunset, the teen couldn't help but feel at peace, maybe some more influence from Ed. So lost in his mind was the teen, he didn't hear the door open, or the footsteps behind him. Jaune didn't know he had company until Pyrrha spoke up, "I thought you'd be here, you've been coming up here the past few days."

"Hey Pyrrha." Jaune easily greeted his partner, "Just needed to clear my head I guess."

"I get that," the girl replied as she stepped closer, placing a hand on Jaune's shoulder as she said, "Some days are harder than others, but you're doing a fantastic job."

Although he heard the compliment, Jaune couldn't help but feel worse, "Yeah, but sometimes I just feel like I don't belong."

"That's nonsense," Pyrrha began, only to be cut off.

"It's not," Jaune stated, taking a deep breath not knowing he was going to have to confess this today.

Knowing what the boy was thinking, Ed warned, ' _ **Think very carefully about what you're about to say.**_ '

Jaune disregarded his inner Grimm as he threw Pyrrha's arm off his shoulder, confessing, "I didn't get accepted into Beacon, I didn't even go to a combat school. I got my hands on some transcripts and saw a chance to make my dream come true, so I took it."

That simple statement shocked Pyrrha greatly. Although she wanted desperately to help her team leader, she wasn't going to sugarcoat her opinion. "That is an incredibly dishonest thing to do," Pyrrha could almost see her words visibly hit Jaune, but she didn't give him a chance to recover as she continued, "not to mention selfish. But," that single word gave Jaune a small measure of hope, "the fact you're still here, that your dream is to help people, that speaks volumes about your character."

"So you think it's fine that I lied?" Jaune asked.

"Oh no, I think it's absolutely horrible that you did, but you're here now so we might as well take advantage of it." She then strove forward as she declared, "You have the basic stance, but your footwork is very sloppy, not to mention you don't know any forms."

"Wait, what?" Jaune asked, thoroughly confused.

Although she rolled her eyes, Pyrrha had a smile as she said, "This is your last free night. I won't tell anyone else, but starting tomorrow until I feel that you're ready, we are going to be up here, training until you can't move." The young woman's tone left no room for discussion. With her piece said, Pyrrha began going back to the door but paused to say, "Jaune," when the spartan had the knight's attention, she continued, "no matter how you got here, I'm confident that you'll make a fine Huntsman."

Left alone once more, Ed decided to speak up, ' _ **She wants you hatchling, and if you had any sense you'd chase after her right now.**_ '

Before Jaune could begin the old argument, a new presence made themselves known. After climbing up to the roof from his window, the teen began clapping as he slowly walked towards Jaune, "Oh Johnny-Boy, sneaking into Beacon? I didn't take you for such a rebel." He then grabbed the shorter teen in a rough headlock as he said, "Looks like you and me are going to get along just fine now, won't we friend?"

"Friend?" Jaune asked, not liking where this conversation was going.

"Yes friend. And you know that friends do favors for each other. Favors such as me not going to Ozpin about your transcripts while you take care of Oobleck's extra paper for me." He then finally let Jaune out of the headlock, but shoved the boy to the ground. "Glad we had this talk, friend."

As Jaune was getting his breath back, Ed spoke up, enraged, ' _ **Are you just going to let him treat you like this? How are you going to protect your flock if you won't stand up for yourself!'**_ For once, Jaune agreed.

Before Cardin could climb back down to his dorm room, Jaune called out his name, causing the teen to turn around as Jaune asked, "Are you blackmailing me?"

"Geeze, you really are dense." Cardin stated before walking closer to Jaune. Poking the knight in the chest, Cardin almost yelled, "Yes you idiot, I'm blackmailing you."

"Thought so." Jaune murmured before sucker punching Cardin, taking the air out of the taller teen's lungs. Pulling out his Scroll to show Cardin he'd recorded the last few minutes, the Arc stated, "Beacon Student handbook says students are to be model citizens, meaning they are not to commit crimes such as blackmail."

"And just how is this different than what I'm doing?" Cardin challenged.

"This isn't blackmail, it's mutually assured destruction. In short, if I'm expelled I'm taking you with me." With that Jaune left Cardin on the rooftop, Ed nodding inside Jaune's head, proud of the blonde's actions.

* * *

Despite coming out ahead after his conversation with Cardin, Jaune still couldn't help but feel agitated. The teen figured he'd head over to the gym to try and burn out some of his excess energy, only to have to drop to the floor or be hit by a flying punching bag as he opened the door. Wishing he had his sword with him, Jaune prepared to fight only to see a hand offering to help him up. Taking the hand, the teen was greeted by the sight of Yang in her workout gear; a light, sleeveless yellow shirt, some black gym shorts, and some fingerless gloves. As enticing a sight as it was, Jaune focused on, and was relieved that, her eyes had returned to normal.

As she helped her friend up, Yang offered an apology. "Sorry about that, I needed to work out some stress."

As he stood up, Jaune observed that nearly every punching bag in the area had been utterly destroyed. Jaune found himself wondering aloud, "Have you been here all day?"

"Yeah, I kind of needed to blow off some steam." Yang admitted with some guilt. "I'm usually not like this, but what Cardin said really set me off." Grabbing her hair and playing with the ends, she elaborated, "I mean, not to sound vain but I know I'm hot, yet that shouldn't be my single defining trait."

"No I get it," Jaune interjected. He then once more glanced around the destroyed punching bags. "So are you good now, or do you still need to work out somethings?"

"Why vomit boy," Yang teased, "are you offering to spar with me?"

"What's the matter Yang, afraid you can't keep up?" Jaune teased back.

"Oh, now you've done it lady killer." Pointing to the locker room, Yang ordered, "Grab a spare gym uniform, some gloves, and meet me in the ring."

Used to being ordered around, Jaune followed Yang's directions, thankful the shirt had long enough sleeves to cover his scars. Easily finding Yang in the ring, the bombshell tossed her fellow blond a clean mouthguard as he asked, "So just a spar, no Semblances?"

"Sounds good to me." Yang agreed before putting in a mouthguard of her own. She waited just long enough for Jaune to bite into his own mouthguard before charging forward, Jaune easily dodging out of the way of the telegraph right hook. For the first few minutes Jaune stayed on the defense, ducking and dodging most of the blows while bringing his hands up to block a few heavy hits. Just by observing the fight, it was clear to Jaune the difference in their fighting styles. Yang was obviously well trained, hardly ever stepping out of her stable stance, meanwhile Jaune was self-taught, adapting what worked in his street brawls into his rough and chaotic brawling style. Speaking of which, the boy felt it was time to change the tempo of the spar.

As Yang reared back in preparation for another strike, she was unprepared when Jaune stepped into her guard, raising his knee up for an attack on Yang's stomach. The bombshell had just barely enough time to bring her hands up to block the attack, but the block only absorbed some of the force while the blow still traveled upwards. As she took a few steps back and rubbed her stomach, she gave Jaune a light glare as she stated, "That's an illegal strike."

Jaune answered with a smirk as he replied, "Street rules Yang, that's where I did all my fighting."

Sensing the conversation was over, Yang launched forward with a right jab, just barely landing the blow on Jaune's opposite shoulder. From there it was a much more even fight. Jaune became a bit more aggressive in his attacks while Yang was forced to think a bit more defensively as Jaune had no qualms about using his legs, knees, elbows, and at one point his head in addition to his hands. For the next ten minutes the sparing turned into a game of cat and mouse, occasionally one blonde would land a blow that would soon be answered by the other, until Yang noticed the clock and saw they had ten minutes left until first-year's curfew. Not feeling like ending the spar in a tie, and definitely not wanting to lose to Jaune, Yang prepared to finish the fight.

Taking a deep breath, Yang charged forward, surprising Jaune as she tanked several hits but more importantly pushed Jaune back into one of the corners of the ring. When the boy recognized his mistake, it was already too late. With a grin, Yang stepped into Jaune's guard, landing a series of fast and heavy body blows, knocking the wind out of the street brawler. Finally after what seemed like hours, Yang stepped back and demanded, "Go on and say it, or do you want another dose?"

Having to use the column to support himself, Jaune held one of his hands up in surrender as he conceded, "Alright, I give, you win."

"You know it!" Yang declared as she threw both her hands up in victory, before collapsing onto the mat, breathing heavily. "Damn Jaune, it's been awhile since I've had this much of a work out, we've got to do this again sometime."

"I'll try to pencil you in." Jaune answered before elaborating, "Pyrrha's decided I need more training with my swordsmanship."

At hearing this Yang actually whistled, "You and P-Money? That happened pretty quick."

Quick to stop any misconceptions, Jaune stated, "We're not together, she's just training me."

"Alright then." Yang replied, letting the conversation die, sounding almost disappointed. She then took a sniff of her workout shirt before declaring, "Woo-boy I smell rank. Come on vomit boy, let's get back to the dorms and get cleaned up."

As he helped Yang back to her feet, Jaune asked, "So do you want to save time and use the communal showers?" That question actually caused Yang to freeze, until she caught the joking gleam in the other blonde's eye.

Although giggling, Yang gently thumped the back of Jaune's head as she declared, "Jerk."

"Ah come on Yang, you know you love it." Jaune teased his friend. Yang wisely chose to stay quiet and avoid making eye-contact, after all the boy wasn't exactly wrong.

* * *

It'd been a week since Pyrrha had started Jaune's training, and the Arc was making a remarkable improvement. While not anywhere near the Mistral champion's level, Jaune had quickly advanced far above the average level of first year students. If Pyrrha had to judge her team leader's current overall strength, she'd place him just below Ren but well above the likes of Cardin.

Speaking of the bully, thus far there hadn't been any major conflicts with the teen. Sure there were a few incidents in the hallway, but nowhere near the level of the antics of the previous week. The taller teen had also gone back to almost exclusively picking Jaune for his opponent in combat class, but due to Jaune's training that plan backfired more often than not.

Currently, all of the first-year teams were on a field trip to the Forever Fall forest, so name for its continuously red leaves. Although this was a trip for Professor Peach's class, the elusive instructor had called in sick, thus pushing the responsibility to Glynda.

As the deputy headmistress led the teenagers off the Bullhead, she used her Semblance to levitate a large pile of glass jars. Addressing the students, Glynda cleared her throat to gain their attention before saying, "Students, for Professor Peach's assignment each of you are to collect a jar of tree sap. Now the sap is known to attract Grimm, so while I'm here to keep any of you from dying please partner up and watch your backs." With that the first years split up, following the most natural idea and split off in their teams, save for eight teenagers.

"Hey Jaune," Ruby asked as she walked up to the boy, "how about RWBY and JNPR team up?"

Turning to the rest of his team, Jaune reasoned, "It would make the work go faster." With that the two teams came to a silent agreement. Soon the eight teens collected their jars and began working in an area near a stream and small hill. Ren was the first to draw sap, using the blades of StormFlower to cut deep into the bark. Unfortunately his work was ruined when Nora got a hold of his jar and promptly drank the sap.

After that incident the two teams formed a new strategy. Seeing how she was ill-equipped to draw sap, Yang stood guard over the group along with Jaune, who was allergic to the sap, and Weiss, who was overly paranoid of staining her combat skirt. Meanwhile Pyrrha and Blake found suitable trees to draw from, using their blades to let the sap run freely while Ren went around placing the jars to collect the substance. Meanwhile Ruby used a full jar to distract Nora from drinking any more sap, zooming around the trees just out of reach of the hammer wielder.

All in all the eight teens worked well together, until Jaune had an uneasy feeling in his gut. His instincts, and Ed, kept screaming at him that something was going to go wrong, he just didn't know what. 'What am I feeling? It's like whenever a Grimm was close back in the Emerald Forest, but not quite.' His musing was cut short when he heard glass breaking. Hearing some of his friends cry out in surprise, Jaune quickly scanned the area, seeing all their jars were intact, but Yang had a deep red stain in her hair while Pyrrha was desperately trying to wipe sap out of her eyes.

Before anyone could ask what happened, the group heard a loud buzzing that only increased in intensity. Soon the source of the noise became clear as a swarm of Rapier Wasps, small, rat-sized Grimm that would be considered an annoyance if it weren't for their oversized barbed stingers that had the ability to by-pass Aura.

Acting quickly, Jaune activated his shield as he ordered both Yang and Pyrrha, "Get cleaned up and get back to Miss Goodwitch." He used his shield to bash several of the small Grimm into the surrounding trees before using his sword to bisect another monster. "Everyone else either help out or exterminate the Grimm!"

While Team RWBY may have had some complaints about being ordered around by someone off their team, the situation warranted immediate action. While Jaune focused on the swarm coming towards him, Pyrrha and Yang fell back to the stream to rinse off as much of the sap as possible, Nora and Ruby falling back to help out. Meanwhile Blake used her Shadow Semblance to quickly move about the swarm, slashing apart wasp after wasp. Weiss used a similar strategy, using her Glyphs to speed up her movements, piercing numerous Grimm with her rapier. Everyone in the group had lost sight of Ren, but a number of wasps seemingly fell apart in mid-air.

While the swarm slowly dwindled in size, Jaune didn't let up. The teen was glad his friends were too focused on their own battles to see the swirls of black mist flowing into the Arc's body. Despite feeling the slight boost in strength, Jaune kept his focus on slashing apart Grimm insect after Grimm insect, feeling at home in the middle of combat, probably even more influence from Ed. Despite his recent training with Pyrrha, a few of the Grimm still slipped through his defense, thankfully a quick burst of fire from StormFlower obliterated the monsters. One Rapier Wasp, however, decided to ignore the sap and go towards the greatest source of negative emotion, Jaune.

Quickly slipping past Jaune's shield, the Grimm landed unnoticed on Jaune's unprotected forearm before plunging its stinger into the Arc's flesh. Jaune bit back a scream when he felt the Grimm's attack. Knowing he needed to eliminate the Grimm as soon as possible, but still having a few wasps left to deal with, Jaune didn't hesitate to bring his injured arm towards his head, biting the small Grimm's head off. Spitting out the head, the teen felt some relief as the monster evaporated, although it left its stinger behind.

A few swings of his sword later and all the Grimm were eliminated. As he settled his heart rate, Jaune took a quick survey around himself. At some point during the fighting Yang, Pyrrha, Ruby, and Nora had retreated back to find Miss Goodwitch. As the highest ranked student still around, Jaune suggested that the rest take their sap samples back to the Bullhead while he investigated the area. In the end most of the teens agreed, although Blake stayed behind.

As Jaune was shifting through some tall grass, Blake asked, "So why do you want to investigate? It seems like a pretty ordinary Grimm attack."

"Two things. First, Rapier Wasps don't spawn this far North, it gets too cold at night for them. Second," Jaune stood up, revealing several shards of broken glass in the palm of his hand, "I'll assume you missed the detail of sap suddenly appearing on Yang and Pyrrha."

Blake's expression instantly turned from curiosity to a deadly glare. She nodded towards the hill and said, "One guess where that came from."

* * *

Slowly the pair crept up the hill, Jaune not that surprised to see Team CRDL sitting on the crest of the hill, laughing loudly amongst themselves. "Did you see those two run away from the wasps? Some Huntresses!" The bully only paused to laugh more before finishing, "Well that should embarrass those two enough as punishment for showing me up. Now they should realize their place."

Just hearing the team of delinquents laughing at their "prank" made Blake want to go confront the team, but she shivered upon feeling the malicious air that surrounded Jaune. "Jaune, we need to go let Goodwitch know." Blake tried to reason, only to go unheard.

Instead Jaune was busy listening to Ed, " _ **Are you just going to let them get away with it? To let an attack on your future mates go unanswered?**_ " Jaune wasn't sure about that mates comment, but he wasn't about to let someone try and hurt his friends.

Jaune didn't hesitate to walk straight into the clearing where the laughing bullies sat. As he stalked towards the group, he didn't bother to draw his weapon. Instead, when Russel was the first to notice the knight, Jaune launched a quick jab into the teen's face, feeling slightly satisfied when he heard the mohawked teen's nose crunch.

Russel's cry of pain seemed to knock the other three teens into action. Sky tried to hit Jaune, only for the Arc to grab his arm and throw the halberd user into a nearby tree, dazing the bully. Dove moved slightly faster, trying to attack Jaune while his back was turned, but the other teen's battle instincts warned him, ducking under the blow just in time. The blow avoided, Jaune then landed a rising upper cut on the other teen before following it with an elbow strike to the temple.

With his three minions knocked out of commission, Cardin took it as his cue to act. Unlike his teammates, the leader of CRDL had opted to take his weapon with him on the fieldtrip. Now instead of using the mace to defend against Grimm, the bully took swing after swing at Jaune. Much like what he observed during Yang's fight, Jaune ducked under and sidestepped each swing, but unlike Yang the knight knew that he didn't have the physical strength to catch his opponent's weapon, much less disarm the taller teen. To add to his troubles, Cardin's fast attacking pace meant Jaune didn't have the opportunity to draw his sword, forcing the Arc to stay on the defensive.

Seeing the position Jaune was in, Cardin saw it as a victory, judging by his smirk and his taunts, "See this Johnny-boy? This is the level you get at when you actually go to a combat school instead of sneaking your way in like a rat."

In response, Jaune just gritted his teeth. He knew he needed to end the fight quickly, not just to shut Cardin up but also because he felt a large Grimm making its way towards the negative emotions the fight was bringing out. Just as Jaune feared, an Ursa Major, a supersized version of the usual Ursa with numerous bone spikes, arrived. As the giant Grimm entered the clearing, it roared to announce its presence.

At hearing the roar, Cardin quickly turned to evaluate the new threat. To the bully's credit, he didn't hesitate to try and attack the Grimm, however the Ursa Major's oversized paw easily swatted the mace out of the teen's hands and sent him to the ground in one fluid strike. Although Jaune would like nothing more than to let karma take care of the bully, but he knew he couldn't let that happen with a good conscience.

Charging forward has he drew his sword and expanded his shield, Jaune leapt between the Grimm and the bully. As the Ursa roared, Jaune shouted back, "Well fuck you to!" As if knowing what Jaune had said, the Ursa took a great swipe at Jaune. Using all his strength, Jaune braced his shield, angling it just slightly so the blow would bounce off rather than be stopped. Despite stopping the attack, Jaune's arm still tingled from the force of the blow. Not wanting to contend with another attack of such magnitude, the teen moved to end the fight. Dropping his shield, the knight adjusted his grip on his sword for a two-handed strike. Beginning low, the teen struck with a fast but powerful upward arc, decapitating the Grimm.

After collecting his shield, collapsing it down, and sheathing his blade, the knight turned to see Cardin still on the ground, his hand held up. Instead of helping the taller teen back up, Jaune took a short hop before kicking the bully's head. Although doubtful, Jaune hoped he'd broken Cardin's jaw, or at least knocked a few teeth loose. As Cardin's head fell back to the ground and he rubbed his sore jaw, Jaune gave the bully an order, "You leave me, and my friends alone." Cardin remained silent, but the glare he shot Jaune promised vengeance.

As Jaune stepped away from the team of bullies, Blake rejoined him, too stunned by what she witnessed to join in the fight. Still, she couldn't help but wonder aloud, "Just where did you learn all of that?"

"I guess you could say I'm the black sheep of my family." Jaune shyly admitted. He then felt his Scroll vibrate. Checking the message, he saw it was a summons to Ozpin's office once the group returned from the fieldtrip. 'And it looks like that was my last fight.'

* * *

As he stood beside Miss Goodwitch in the elevator, Jaune couldn't help but reflect on the past few minutes. Already knowing why he was being called to the office, Jaune asked the deputy headmistress if he could have a few minutes with his friends. The woman seemed to know what was about to happen, and in a surprising show of sympathy allowed the teen's request.

Once alone with his team and Team RWBY, Jaune confessed on how he had snuck into Beacon, as well as Cardin's attempt at blackmailing. While Weiss was furious at Jaune, she was quickly reeled in by her team, Ruby and Yang agreeing that what Jaune did was dishonest but he had grown in skill. Blake also cited how she hadn't gone to a combat school either but was still admitted do to the open test. Ren and Nora quickly added that they had a similar experience, and that Jaune probably could have passed the test himself. Only Pyrrha remained silent, already knowing the truth. Despite everything, it turned into a tearful goodbye to Jaune, with a promise to reapply to Beacon is he wasn't blacklisted. Afterwards Jaune took a slight detour to the nurse's office to have the Rapier Wasp stinker removed from his arm before heading off the see the headmaster.

The ding of the elevator brought Jaune back to the present. As he stepped into the office, the headmaster greeted his student, "Ah Mr. Arc, we've been waiting for you." The teen was not at all surprised to see Cardin already in the office, looking as smug as ever. Continuing, Ozpin motioned for Jaune to take a seat as he said, "Mr. Winchester has come to us about some concerns regarding your transcripts. You understand this is a serious issue."

"Yes sir." Jaune meekly replied, feeling all but two inches tall.

"I'm glad you understand." Ozpin stated before elaborating, "Acting on the tip we did review your records, and it appears there was a mix up, the records we have on file do not match yours." The man then smiled as he informed the teen, "Thankfully we were able to correct the issue, and with your corrected transcripts and recommendation you are still qualified to attend Beacon, we apologize for the confusion." At hearing he wasn't expelled, Jaune actually smiled as he felt Ed nod in satisfaction. Other people present had a different reaction.

"WHAT?" Cardin demanded as he shot out of his seat. The bully opened his mouth to begin a tirade, only to freeze at hearing the crack of Glynda's riding crop.

"Sit down young man." The coldness of the order made Cardin instantly comply. Pushing her glasses back up to their proper place, the woman brought out her own Scroll, expanding it into tablet mode as she connected to the headmaster's table. "Given your actions on today's fieldtrip, and other actions since the beginning of the semester, we found your tip to be very uncharacteristic. As a precaution we looked into your transcripts as well." Here the woman paused as Cardin's transcripts were displayed, showing the grades to be almost as good as Jaune's actual grades, a far cry from his performance in class. "Here we once more found a discrepancy, although these transcripts came directly from your combat school. As such we reached out to find the truth. All of your previous instructors agreed this did not match up. Although our investigation is far from complete we believe someone in the administrative office was bribed to doctor your final grades." Jaune had to hide his grin as Cardin paled when Glynda hit a few more buttons to reveal the bully's actual grades, a sea of F's with a single D.

After taking a few moments to let the situation sink in, Ozpin spoke up, "If this were a simple matter of bullying and other unbecoming behavior, now would be the time where I inform you that you and your team will be serving afterschool and weekend detention for the remainder of the semester, but this forgery elevates the situation." Waving away the corrected records, Ozpin informed Cardin, "Your team is suspended from all classes for the remainder of the semester but may make the work up during their detention, but that's not your punishment. You, Mr. Winchester, are hereby expelled from Beacon Academy and blacklisted from the other academies. You have five hours to collect your personal belongings and leave the campus. Good day to you."

Instead of meekly accepting the situation, Cardin stood and slammed his hands down as he yelled, "You can't do this! I am a son of Winchester, a highly respected Atlassian family!"

Ozpin just regarded the temper tantrum with a cold glare as he responded, "I am the headmaster of this school, meaning while I must follow the rules and laws the council of Vale institute, I am free to administer school policy as I see fit, including the punishment of my students, or in your case ex-students. At no point does anyone from Atlas factor into my decision making. You now have one hour to collect your belongings and get out of my school, or I will have Miss Goodwitch escort you off the campus."

Seeing the look from Glynda that practically asked for the teen to have another outburst, Cardin finally left, stomping out of the office. Feeling that he wasn't needed anymore, Jaune nodded to the headmaster and deputy headmistress and moved to follow Cardin out of the office, only to stop when he heard Ozpin call his name. Turning, the man addressed the teen, "Mr. Arc, this was an unfortunate situation. Let us hope there aren't any more clerical errors, I would hate to lose such a promising Huntsman due to a technicality."

The message was clear to Jaune, Ozpin knew about his own forgery but saw the potential the teen had, thus he had better not draw any more attention to himself. The teen took the warning seriously, but didn't want to press his luck any further, so he just nodded in understanding before heading off to the elevator. As he rode the machine down to the ground floor, the knight shot off a quick group text to his friends, saying he was still a student and would explain the situation when he got back to them.

* * *

Back in the shared living area of the dorms, Team RWBY and the remains of Team JNPR were still feeling down about Jaune's abrupted expulsion. Weiss had finally come around, and while she still felt that the blonde's behavior was wrong, she couldn't deny that he had the makings of a good Huntsman and a good friend. The mood shifted when everyone's Scrolls simultaneously went off. Nora was the first to grab her Scroll and read the message, instantly breaking out into a huge grin, declaring "Fearless leader gets to stay!" while she jumped on the couch cushions.

As everyone read the message, everyone broke into grins, although one person noticed another's had an added quality to it. Speaking up, Yang called to her friend, "Hey Pyrrha, mind going for a quick walk with me?"

Not seeing the ulterior motive Pyrrha agreed and followed Yang outside. After strolling silently for a few minutes, Yang huffed as she began, "Look, I'd like to think that we are friends, and I'd rather not lose out on a friendship over something as cliché as this."

"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha asked, having a small suspicion but wanting to be wrong.

"We both like Jaune." Yang boldly declared, Pyrrha doing nothing to deny the accusation as Yang continued speaking. "As I said, I don't want to lose a friend over some stupid drama. I have a feeling you're waiting for him to make the first move, but after this whole debacle I'm not sure he will, he'll probably want everything to go back to normal so he'll feel safe. After that, who knows how long until he's able to man up and actually make a move."

"So what," Pyrrha asked, "you're suggesting one of us asks him out, but come up with some way to figure out which one of us it is so the other doesn't feel cheated and break off our friendship, no matter how new it is?" When Yang nodded yes, Pyrrha herself sighed before asking, "Do you have any idea how we're going to do that?"

At seeing that the pair had wondered near the combat arena, Yang nodded to the space and said, "I can think of one way."

* * *

After exiting Ozpin's office, Jaune felt on top of the world, not only wasn't he expelled but one of the school's greatest bullies got the boot instead. His good mood continued as he slowly walked towards the dorms, that was until he saw a red streak heading straight towards him.

"Jaune!" Ruby yelled as she stopped in front of him. "Yang, Pyrrha, help!" The boy didn't have a chance to question what was going on as the younger girl latched onto his arm and used her semblance to speed the pair to the combat arena. Once there, Jaune saw that a group of students had amassed around the arena. Despite having an idea of what he was about to witness, Jaune still pushed his way to the front of the crowd.

It really shouldn't have been surprising to see Yang and Pyrrha sparing, but for at a far more intense level than anything they did with Jaune. Both young woman had their weapons out and were using live Dust rounds. Both also had their Semblance's active, judging by Yang's blazing hair and how Pyrrha could always catch her shield after a throw, no matter what angle it came from.

Not completely understanding the situation, but feeling as if it would soon go too far, Jaune did what any member of the crowd should have done, he leaped between the two fighting ladies, right as they were about to attack once more. Thankfully the Arc's recent Grimm meal gave him enough speed to sidestep Pyrrha's spear thrust while grabbing Yang's arm and pulling her away from the attack.

With his two friend's separated, Jaune addressed the crowd by saying, "Alright folks, entertainment's over, head on out. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here." Once the crowd left, many grumbling that it was just getting good and in turn where ushered out by the remaining members of Teams RWBY and JNPR, Jaune turned to his friends and asked, "So, who's going to tell me what that was all about?"

"Well after Cardin's prank, Yang and I felt like we needed to vent some frustration. Since Yang can't go back to the gym due to the number of punching bags she obliterated last time, I suggested we have a spar, although I suppose it went a bit too far." Pyrrha tried to lie, but the look on Jaune's face made it easy to see he didn't fully believe her.

Deciding that honesty was the best policy, Yang huffed before saying, "The truth Jaune? Both me and Pyrrha like you and are interested in being much more than friends, but neither one of us wanted to ruin a friendship by being the first to pursue you." While Jaune felt his mouth drop and Pyrrha's face began to match her hair, Yang started playing with her hair as she continued, "We both know that you won't make the first move, either being too rattled by today's events to step out of your comfort zone or because you didn't want to ruin a friendship either. So we tried this to settle the matter."

Yang expected many different responses to her confession, yet she was not expecting her fellow blond to reply with, "You both realize how crazy this is, right?" When neither teen spoke up, Jaune continued his mini-lecture, "I mean you both are incredibly beautiful, smart, and just all around amazing young woman that I'd give my left arm to date, but we've only known each other for a few months." He threw his hands up as he asked, "How could I be expected to choose between you two in such a short amount of time?" He then huffed to himself before using his right hand to rub his eyebrows, trying to relieve the future headache as he mumbled, "It sounds selfish, but in a perfect world I'd love to date both of you."

Those words set something off in Yang's mind, leading to an idea so outlandish neither she or Pyrrha had considered it before. Turning to the spartan, Yang asked, "I get first date, you get first kiss?"

"What?" Jaune asked, not sure what Yang meant.

Pyrrha seemed to instantly understand. Sending a warm smile to the brawler, the champion nodded as she said, "Deal."

"Deal, what deal?" Jaune once more asked, not understanding the situation. His confusion grew as the two women shared twin grins, Pyrrha blushing a bit as she walked in front of him. Then, in one fluid motion, the spartan launched herself forward, caressing Jaune's cheeks as she pulled him close, their lips soon meeting. At the contact, Jaune's mind went blank, save for the cheering of Ed, but he soon found himself responding to the kiss and bringing his arms to the small of his partner's back. Although the kiss was brief, it felt perfect to the couple.

As Pyrrha pulled away, her grin grew as she noticed Jaune's goofy smile. Feeling bold, the teen gave the knight another quick peck before untangling herself from him and saying, "Have fun with Yang tomorrow."

"Wait, what?" Jaune once more asked as Pyrrha walked away.

"Yep, you're taking me out tomorrow night, lucky you." Yang said with a flirtatious smile before adding, "Pick me up at nine, and the date better be amazing." She then gave her fellow blond a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away with a bit more of a sway in her hips.

Left alone, Jaune asked aloud, "What just happened?"

' _ **Simple,'**_ Ed replied, ' _ **You just became one of the luckiest, or unluckiest, men in the world with two knock out girlfriends.**_ '

"How did this happen?"

" _ **Are you really complaining? I mean you three are still young, live a little and have some fun while you still can.**_ "

Now that he had a chance to think about it, Jaune couldn't really argue. Yes it would be a lot of hard work with double the chance of heartbreak, but at the end of it the teen had the chance to get to know two amazing young woman and everyone had a chance at happiness.

"Holy crap, I've got two girlfriends." Jaune spoke aloud in sudden realization, thankfully no one was around to hear the blonde's thoughts as he came to another realization, "Holy shit, I've got a date tomorrow." The teen knew he needed to impress Yang, but he had so little time to set something up. 'Well there is that…' the teen absent mindedly thought as he pulled his Scroll out of his pocket and dialed home.

"Jaune, how are you doing?" Louis asked as he answered the phone, something Jaune was grateful for. The fewer members of his family that knew of his date the better.

"Hey dad, I'm doing fine. I've actually got a date tomorrow." Jaune replied, unable not to smile as he heard his dad chuckle in pride.

"That's my boy!" Louis practically shouted, "So are you calling to brag, or do you need some advice?"

"No, I'm good." Jaune quickly replied, not wanting to hear any well-meaning but ultimately useless words. "I think I've got a plan, but I need you to send me the bike, like yesterday."

"Ah, trying to put a little excitement in the first date? That's pretty bold of you." The man laughed once more before asking, "Okay so which one do you need? The Ranger? The Cyclone? Or one of the more exotic models?"

"No dad, I need _the_ bike." Jaune emphasized, hoping his dad caught his drift.

The line was silent for several moments before Louis asked, "Jaune, you're not asking me to send you that bike, right? The one bike that your mother has forbidden either you or me to touch, let alone drive?" The boy's silence was all the answer the man needed. Sighing, Louis asked, "Is she worth it?"

"She is." Jaune immediately answered, adding in his head, 'they both are.'

"Alright then," the elder Arc answered, "it goes without saying, but your mom can never know about this." With that the man hung up on his son before making arrangements to send his son the special motorcycle.

* * *

With the next day being the start of the weekend each student began to enjoy their day. Ruby headed off to Vale early in the afternoon, the museum having a large traveling exhibit about classic Mistral weapons she was dying to see, meaning she would be gone for the rest of the day. Weiss had reluctantly gone with her team leader, reasoning someone had to ensure the younger teen didn't embarrass the team name too badly. That left Blake in the dorm room, reading while Yang spent the afternoon tearing through her closet.

"Why are you putting so much effort into this, I thought it was up to your date to provide a good time?" the secret Faunus asked as she turned the page in her book.

"That doesn't mean I can't put some effort into making a good impression." Yang reasoned, applying a smidge of eyeshadow now that she had chosen her outfit. Jaune had sent her a text saying they would be spending the evening at a night club, so Yang had dressed accordingly with a white, short sleeved shirt underneath a shear black jacket that paired nicely with her black leggings and denim short shorts. She also wore a pair of grey short-heeled boots along with the necklace Jaune had bought her.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Blake replied, "Still, it's Jaune." While the entire team knew Yang had plans tonight, Blake was one of the few Yang told the exact details of the occasion, and was extremely doubtful the clumsy knight could handle her partner.

Yang opened her mouth to reply, only to hear a knock on the door. With a smile, Yang opened the door wide enough for Blake to see her date. The book lover was actually speechless at what she saw, and could admit that Arc cleaned up well. Instead of his usual armor and hoodie, the teen wore a black button up underneath a pure white satin jacket with a black collar and cuffs. The boy wore his usual converse shoes, although he picked out a pair of jeans a shade darker than usual and lacked the ripped knee. It was only a few simple changes, but they sure made a difference.

"Hey Yang," Jaune greeted his date as he offered his arm, unaware the effect he had on Blake, "you ready to head out?"

"Almost." Yang replied as she took a step back into the room to grab a clutch-type purse, telling Blake, "Let Ruby know I'm going to be out late and not to wait up for me." before stepping back to the door and taking the offered limb as the pair of blondes headed out, leaving the door open. With a huff, Blake marked her place in her book before jumping off her bed and sticking her head in the hallway to scold her friends on their absentmindedness, only to see the pair were almost at the end of the hall. Deciding to forgive and forget, the book lover closed the door herself but caught one last detail about Jaune's new look. Embroidered on the back of his jacket was a large, stylized, golden griffon head.

* * *

As Jaune led Yang out of the dorms and around campus, the young woman couldn't help but notice where they were going. Confused, she asked, "Hey, how come we're going to the garage instead of the Bullhead stop? Are you expecting me to drive to my own date?"

"Of course not." Jaune easily replied as the pair stepped into the structure. "Last time we went to the city you were kind enough to show me your bike, so I figured I'd show you one of mine." He paused to dig around his jacket pockets for his keys before saying, "It was a bit of a hassle to get it here so fast and to arrange for the parking, but it's worth it." The pair finally arrived at the correct space as Jaune declared, "It's not the prettiest motorcycle, but I love riding this thing, even if I've almost broken my neck a few times and my mom has practically banned me from ever touching it again."

As Yang regarded the bike, she had to agree with Jaune's statement. While much thinner than Bumblebee, actually requiring a kickstand to stay upright, the vehicle had a large sweeping cone in the front with a single headlight and what looked to be some cosmetic fins on the back end. Honestly, Yang didn't see much appeal to the vehicle as aside from the colors, a base silver with golden detailing, the bike didn't seem that special aside from having a very aerodynamic look. Still, wanting to start the date right, Yang did her best to ignore her initial thoughts as she asked, "Is it fast?"

Jaune sniggered as he hopped onto the bike, turning on the engine as he challenged, "Why don't you climb on and find out?" With an eager grin, Yang accepted the challenge, if a bit awkwardly. The bike's seat not being very large left little room between driver and passenger, meanwhile the fins caused Yang's legs to jut forward, her heels almost in front of Jaune's knees. The teen scratched the back of his head as he said, "Yeah, this baby really is only built for one, but I really wanted to make our first date memorable. You might want to hang on now." That was all the warning Yang had to wrap her arms around her date before Jaune tore out of the parking garage.

As the bike zoomed down the campus roads, Yang did have to admit that it was fast, especially when Jaune got to the higher gears. Still, the speed was comparable to that of Bumblebee's. Deciding to tease Jaune a little, Yang asked, "I thought you said this thing was fast."

With a grin, Jaune replied, "You haven't seen anything yet." With that the boy pressed a red button on the handlebars Yang hadn't noticed before. With a roar the motorcycle shot forward, straight towards a cliff.

"Um Jaune, I know I shouldn't be a backseat driver, but shouldn't we be turning?" Yang asked.

"Trying," Jaune replied, "steering must have locked up when I hit the boost."

"What?" Yang demanded, preparing herself to grab Jaune and jump off, the drop being too far to survive even with Aura, but it was too late as the bike had already left the cliff far behind. If anyone had been around to witness the event, Yang would deny that she screamed and held on to Jaune tighter.

Feeling like he'd given Yang enough excitement, Jaune pushed another button on the handlebars, this one black, that caused the back fins to extend out into wings while a second, smaller pair popped out from the cone. Afterwards Jaune easily shifted his weight around to bring the bike into a fast, but leisurely glide. Turning his head back towards his date, Jaune asked, "You okay? I figured we could skip some traffic this way."

Yang answered with a glare as she stated, "That was not funny."

"You're right," Jaune admitted, turning his attention back to steering the air-born vehicle, "but it gave you a good excuse to hold on tighter." At this Yang blushed but made no move to loosen her hold on Jaune. Now that she wasn't fearing for her life Yang actually started to enjoy the flight.

* * *

After ten minutes of gliding, the pair had arrived in Vale's downtown, Jaune's bike touching down in one of the seedier parts of town. Once the bike was parked, Jaune, ever the gentlemen, helped Yang off the motorcycle as she looked around, remarking, "Hey I know this place."

"Do you?" Jaune asked as the pair walked towards the building, "This was the only place I could think of at such short notice."

"Yeah, the guy that runs this place owes me a drink." Yang informed her fellow blonde before thinking about Jaune's words. As the pair stopped at a coat check to store Jaune's jacket, Yang asked, "How do you know about Junior's?"

Placing an arm around Yang's shoulders, Jaune answered with a question, "Where do you think I got the transcripts?" Before Yang could respond, the pair entered the club proper, standing at the top of the staircase. Nodding to the left, towards the dance floor, Jaune asked, "Would the lady like to dance first," he then nodded to the right towards a seating area, "or eat first."

"Oh, we're dancing." Yang declared as she steered her date towards the dance floor, "I've got to see how well P-money's been developing your footwork."

For his part, Jaune let himself be dragged, knowing full well not to get between a woman and her goal. Once on the dance floor the couple found a small space in the crowd where they could enjoy themselves. Jaune didn't know what song the DJ was playing, probably some remix of a popular Top 40 track. Instead, Jaune focused on his date. As Yang threw her arms up and moved to the beat, Jaune did his best to keep up. When his date turned her back to him and began shaking her hips, the teen acted on instinct, reaching around the pull Yang closer to him while matching her movements. Yang responded by reaching behind her and pulling Jaune closer, her head angled upwards. Believing he knew where this was going, Jaune leaned down, expecting a kiss but only receiving a tap on his nose. Yang grinned as she teased, "Not yet lady killer, you've got to earn my kisses." With that the girl untangled herself from her date before wading into the crowd, Jaune following soon after.

As the DJ switched to a song with a faster tempo, Jaune found himself in the center of the dance floor, the crowd having left a space open for people to show off. Figuring if he was having trouble finding his date, he should draw attention to himself, Jaune boldly stepped forward. Taking two seconds to get the feel of the beat, the knight jumped forward with a front flip, spinning both horizontally and vertically, landing in a handstand to the applause of the crowd. Pushing off with his hand a few times, the teen spun around a few times before falling down to his shoulders, keeping his previous momentum to continue spinning. Still not finished, Jaune ended his spinning before pushing himself up with his hands, although a little dizzy, the blonde seamlessly transitioned into a partial split, there was no way he had the flexibility to do a full one, before hopping back up, and then allowing himself to fall forward. Putting his hands out at the last moment, Jaune pushed himself back up fully before moonwalking back into the crowd, the people going wild.

As expected, it was only a few moments later when the boy bumped into a certain blonde. "So," he casually asked, "was that enough to earn a treat?"

"You tell me." Yang fired back as she leaned forward. However it seemed events conspired against them as two things happened. First, Jaune's stomach roared, distracting the pair from their activity. Second, the song ended and the DJ made no move to start another track. Instead the bear-masked man grabbed a microphone from underneath his turntables and made an announcement.

"Will all guests please clear the dance floor. We have a special surprise but we need time to set it up. Thank you." Although the guests grumbled, they still complied. As Jaune and Yang moved through the sea of people, Yang asked, "Grab us a table while I get us some drinks?" She didn't wait to get an answer as she headed over to the bar.

* * *

Hei Xiong, more commonly addressed as Junior, had just finished putting away a bottle of whiskey when he saw someone he didn't wish on his worst enemy. "Just what are you doing her blondie?"

"Oh relax Junior, I'm not here to wreck your club this time. Right now I'm on a date." To prove her point, Yang pointed over to Jaune, who had managed to snag a small, two-seater corner booth at the far end of the club.

At seeing who the destructive brawler's date was, Junior barely managed to suppress a smile as he asked, "Arc took you out on a date? Now that's going to lead to something interesting."

"How do you know Jaune's name?" Yang asked before remembering this was where her date had gotten his fake transcripts. "You know what, just forget it and grab me a strawberry sunrise and," Yang suddenly remembered she hadn't gotten Jaune's order, so she finished by saying, "whatever you've got on tap."

As Junior mixed the ingredients for the cocktail, he asked, "Wait, has he not told you?" At seeing Yang's blank stare, this time Junior couldn't help but snigger as he commented, "Boy, do I wish I could see your face when he tells you."

"Tells me what?" Yang demanded, her arms crossed and a hint of red in her eyes.

Once more Junior smiled as he said, "It's not for me to tell you. Here's your drinks, on the house this time." With that the man placed down the cocktail and the glass bottle he'd just retrieved from the fridge under the counter.

At seeing the drinks, Yang called out, "Hey this isn't what I ordered!"

"Blondie, just trust me on this one." Junior replied before nodding back to the seating area and saying, "Now you better head off before someone ruins your night." At that, the blond took a quick glance back to see a maddening sight. Just barely able to keep her emotions in check, Yang grabbed the drinks and began marching off.

* * *

It took a little doing, but Jaune was to able grab a table that would suit him and Yang just fine. As he started to relax and wait for Yang to come back from the bar, he was suddenly joined by two very attractive, and near identical ladies.

"Hey, we saw you dancing." The one on his right with the short hair, red dress and claws said.

"It was really something special." The one on his left with long hair, a white dress and bladed heels added.

"Thanks ladies," Jaune kindly replied, trying to be polite, "but I'm actually here with a date who'll be back any minute. This table's kind of cramped as it is, so could you maybe move along?"

The twins shared a predatory smirk as the red one began, "Really, on a date? With only one girl?"

"Why settle when you could have so much more?" The one with the heels asked before both girls scooched further into the booth, trapping Jaune between them. "You know my sister and I are very good about sharing."

"We share just about everything, and I do mean everything." The clawed one supplied.

It seemed Jaune would need a miracle to escape from this situation. That miracle came in the form of a red-eyed young woman slamming two drinks onto the table, glaring at the twins as she said, "Hey bitch one and bitch two, get off my man."

"What if we don't want to?" The long-haired twin challenged, only for Yang to reach around, grab the back of her dress, pull her from the booth and none too gently toss her towards a different table.

With free space now available, Yang slid into the booth, practically sitting on Jaune's lap as she continued to glare at the remaining twin. "Why don't you make yourself useful and grab us a server, or would you rather I cause another scene for your boss?" The girl took a minute to think about it, but ultimately left the booth with a huff. Now alone with her date, Yang calmed down and felt a little guilty about the incident. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, you should see how I get around some of the people I've fought against back home." Jaune replied as he waved away the concern. Leaning forward, he grabbed the bottle to examine the label, smiling as he said, "How did you know I&W is my favorite?" Before Yang could answer, the knight took a great gulp of the root beer, enjoying the lingering taste as he browsed the menu. "So do you want to order something, or do you want to split a jumbo order of cheese fries? They're supposed to be really good, especially with the spicy dipping sauce."

"Yeah, that sounds good." Yang answered before flagging someone down to take the order, still trying to figure out how Junior knew Jaune's favorite drink. Trying to get a handle on the conversation, she commented, "After seeing you on the dance floor, I find it very hard to picture you as a street fighter."

"Yeah but you know it's true." Jaune replied as their food came out unusually fast. "Besides, someone had to watch out for my sisters when my parents were away."

"You've got siblings?" Yang asked, hoping Jaune didn't notice her double dip a fry.

Pulling out his Scroll, Jaune quickly swiped to the photo he was looking for before showing it to Yang, his date's eyes going wide as he said, "That's me at the back. Next to me is my younger twin Amanda. In the middle are the triplets; Rena, Blanc, and Lea. Then we have Iris at the left, next to her is Noir, and baby Marinette at the front."

"Eight kids." Yang stated in disbelief before informing Jaune, "It's official, your mom is my new hero."

"Yeah, she's great." Jaune agreed, "But I'm sure your family is just as good."

"My dad and uncle yes." Yang stated before growing somber, "My step-mom died years ago, and the less said about my biological mom the better."

Easily sensing the shift in mood, even without the extra help from Ed, Jaune reached out, rubbing Yang's arm as he said, "Sorry, I shouldn't have taken the conversation there."

"It's fine," Yang replied, her turn to wave off the concern, "you didn't know about it. I'll tell you this much, it was interesting helping raise Ruby, she was a cute kid and knew my dad and uncle could rarely tell her no. I think the one victory they had against her was negotiating her desire for a pony down to us getting a dog."

The short tale made Jaune chuckle as he asked, "So how did they talk you out of getting a horse?"

"Oh, I didn't want a horse," Yang informed her date, "that seemed too tame to me. I wanted a mountain lion, yeah no way dad was going for that one."

Jaune was initially shocked to hear Yang's confession, but after a moment of reflection realized how much the tale fit the young woman's personality. From there the pair spent the next forty-five minutes slowly demolishing the plate of cheese fries while swapping stories and generally having a good time, not noticing the activity as Junior's men began constructing a small stage towards the back of the dance floor; placing down a drum set, a keyboard, a guitar and bass plugged into amps and some mike stands. It was the loud roar of the crowd that brought the pair's attention to the stage, missing the introduction of the band.

"Huh, looks like Junior managed to book a surprise show." Yang commented as she popped the last fry into her mouth. "Don't recognize the band though."

"I do, they're James Ate Globe or something like that." At seeing Yang's questioning gaze, Jaune explained, "Amanda was really into them when they first got big, which meant I heard nothing but their music blaring in my house for a year and a half." He then finished his root beer before standing, offering his hand to his date as he asked, "Shall we catch the show?"

Yang grinned before downing the rest of her own drink. Grabbing onto the offered hand, Yang allowed herself to be led back to the dance floor. Unfortunately by the time the couple made it to the dance floor, the crowd had already gathered, forcing the pair to stand near the back as the band began their first song. (AN: For the best experience, play A Praised Chorus by Jimmy Eat World.)

As the song opened with the clash of cymbals and a guitar rift, the crowd began to sway along to the beat of the song. As the lead singer started belting out the opening chorus, Jaune was sure to open up his Scroll and record a video, making a mental note to send it to Amanda later. Meanwhile Yang just stood next to her date, bopping her head along to the song as she didn't know the lyrics. Yet as the singer began to repeat the chorus, the words stuck with her. Taking a glance at Jaune, Yang grabbed his hand before pulling him back towards the stairs, stopping only when the pair were underneath the structure, hidden from everything.

"Yang? Why'd you…" but the knight's question died when he felt Yang's arms around his neck, pulling him down and into a kiss. Kissing Yang, Jaune decided, was different from kissing Pyrrha, but no less pleasurable.

Separating to get some air, Yang explained, "Sorry, but I didn't really feel like standing in the back, looking around. Didn't feel like wasting time, so I made a move." Jaune didn't respond with words, instead leaning back down to kiss the girl once more.

While the pair enjoyed themselves they heard the melody of the song loud and clear, although the lyrics were lost among the noise. Still, the couple heard a single line from the song loud and clear, "I wanna fall in love tonight."

The rest of the night had gone equally as well. After making out for a bit, the couple ultimately went back to the crowd to watch the band preform a few more songs before everyone called it a night. As Yang insisted Jaune use the more conventional method of driving back to Beacon, the two didn't get back onto campus until well after midnight, they actually had to avoid Port's, Oobleck's, and Goodwitch's patrols and sneak back into their dorm rooms, the couple sharing one last kiss before saying goodnight.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, as it was the weekend Yang had opted to sleep in late. While unconscious, the bombshell was halfway remembering her night with Jaune and halfway dreaming about what would have happened if things had gone a bit further. Before things moved along too much, the blonde was awakened by a shrill whistle.

Hitting her head as she fell to the floor, Yang could only rub her sore spot while glaring at her sister. Ruby was unaffected by the look and just stated, "Oh don't look at me like that. Like dad tells Uncle Qrow, just because you choose to stay out all night doesn't mean you can sleep all day. Now come on, Team RWBY can't start their day unless everyone is awake!"

Yang could see her sister's point, still she didn't appreciate being awoken in such a manor. Turning to her other teammates, she saw she'd have no support from Weiss, who was looking something up on her Scroll, or Blake, who was reading a book. Blowing a raspberry to her sister, Yang nonetheless stood up and stretched as she said, "Fine, I'll get up but I'm grabbing a shower first."

Just as Yang grabbed her towel and clothes, locking the bathroom door behind herself, her Scroll dinged to indicate she had a new message. Being the helpful sister she was, Ruby grabbed the devise and was about to yell to Yang to ask who was texting her, only for her eyes to see the text preview and who had sent the message. The Scroll landed with a thump as Ruby slowly walked out the door and down the hallway, seemingly oblivious to her teammates questions of where she was going.

A few minutes later Yang came out of the bathroom, dressed for the day but still drying her hair. Upon seeing her Scroll on the ground and her sister gone, Yang asked her teammates, "Hey, where did Ruby go?"

"I have no idea." Weiss answered, "She just looked at the message that was on your Scroll before walking out of the room."

As Weiss spoke, Yang had unlocked her Scroll and read the message. It was from Jaune and simply said, "I had a good time last night, I hope you did as well. Let me know when we can do it again sometime." While the message seemed innocent enough, Yang seemed to know what had upset her sister.

Putting her Scroll in her pocket, Yang walked out of the room declaring, "I've got to go fix this." The statement only confused Weiss more, although Blake had a good guess what was happening and silently wished her partner good luck.

Despite relocating to Beacon, Yang knew her sister kept some of the habits she'd developed back home. As such the brawler almost ran to the school's kitchen, despite the fact the room was unofficially off-limits to students. Once there the young woman walked very slowly around the room, until she heard a soft whimper coming from one of the bottom cupboards. Gently sitting down with her back against the wood, Yang gently knocked on the door and asked, "Can we talk?"

"Go away!" was Ruby's response, prompting Yang to sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you I had a date…" Yang began, only for her sister to cut her off.

"It isn't about that! You went on dates all the time back home, but I knew you'd always be there for me." Ruby then further explained, "Jaune was my friend! Now he's seeing you, it's going to be just like back home. Who wants to be little Ruby's friend when they can have glorious Yang?"

Now fully realizing the situation, and knowing she had a lot to make up for to her sister, Yang slowly got up and stepped away from the cupboard as she pulled out her Scroll and called her boyfriend. Thankfully Jaune answered after the second ring, so Yang quickly explained, "Look, I really screwed up. I didn't tell Ruby that I was going out with you and now she thinks you're going to forget about her. Could you, I don't know, talk to her?"

"Go ahead and give her the phone." Jaune instantly answered.

Once more Yang knocked on the cupboard, only to have Ruby once more tell her to go away. Instead, Yang held out her Scroll and said, "Phone call for you." The door opened just enough for Ruby's hand to shoot out and grab the phone before closing again. Yang knew she should probably give her sister some privacy, but she wanted to stick around to ensure her little sister was feeling better, plus she was using her phone.

"Hello?" Ruby asked.

"Hey Ruby," Jaune responded over the phone, "I guess I have some apologizing to do."

"Why her?" Ruby asked, "Not that my sister isn't amazing, but why couldn't you have fallen for some other girl?"

"As cliché as it is, the heart wants what it wants." Jaune replied before apologizing, "Ruby, I really am sorry about dating your sister without telling you. No matter what happens between me and Yang, I sincerely hope we can continue to be friends."

The younger teen was silent for a minute before saying, "Fine, you're forgiven," Yang had to stop herself from fist pumping in victory, but couldn't stop her smile when she heard the rest of the sentence, "but if you hurt my sister, I'm hurting you."

Jaune laughed at that as he asked, "Isn't it typically the older sibling doing the threatening?"

Ruby had her own laugh as she replied, "With you dating my sister, you should know we aren't a typical family. See you later Jaune." After she hung up, Ruby came out of the cupboard and gave her sister's Scroll back.

Pulling her sister into a hug, and glad that Ruby returned the gesture, Yang stated, "Like Jaune said, I'm sorry we didn't tell you. We good?"

"Almost." Ruby replied as she stepped out of the hug. Pointing at her sister, Ruby commanded, "You owe me a baker's dozen giant chocolate chunk cookies from that bakery in Vale."

Although she rolled her eyes at her sister's demands, Yang still smiled and promised, "Okay sis, next time we're in the city."

"We're going today." Ruby declared before explaining, "Weiss wanted to go downtown for some reason, and Blake said she needed some new books anyway."

Once more Yang rolled her eyes, but affectionately ruffled her little sister's hair as the two walked out of the kitchen and headed back to their dorm. Hopefully this small bit of drama would be the last Team RWBY would have to deal with for some time.

* * *

 **25 pages, I think that's the longest chapter I've written for this story, moreover it's one of the longest update's I've written in quite some time.**

 **So a few important things happened. First we sped through the Jaundice story, Cardin's expelled and will no longer be a part of the story, and Jaune, Pyrrha, and Yang are officially dating.**

 **On that note I would like to extend a very special thanks to Solora Goldsun for allowing me to borrow a line from their story. When I read about Yang wanting a mountain lion in their story** _ **Once in a Shattered Moon**_ **I liked it so much I really wanted to include it during the date scene. Thankfully after reaching out, Solora Goldsun was gracious enough to allow me to borrow the line. So once more, thank you Solora Goldsun, and to my readers if you haven't already you should really go read some of their amazing stories.**

 **I hope that this long update has answered some lingering questions, but I also know it created some more. Questions, such as…**

 **What will Pyrrha's date be like?**

 **How will Jaune and everyone else handle the coming conflicts?**

 **Who will be the third girl to steal Jaune's heart? (This one I'm sure I'm going to get some hate for.)**

 **All these questions and more will be answered in future chapters of** _ **A Grimm Arc**_ **!**

 **But while we wait, here's acw28 saying, "until next update."**


	5. Of Dates, Docks, and Dilemmas

**Hey everyone, it's acw28 back with another chapter of** _ **A Grimm Arc**_ **!**

 **As always, it was nice to see how much everyone enjoyed the last chapter. For a quick recap, we breezed through he Jaundice arc of the story, Cardin got expelled (because Karma comes around), both Yang and Pyrrha confessed their feelings to Jaune, and Yang got her date.**

 **Now I know what many of you might be thinking, 'Two updates in as many months, what is this madness!?' What can I say, after showing Yang's date I couldn't wait to start on Pyrrha's. I hope everyone will enjoy reading about the date, and the extra parts of this chapter.**

 **So with that, let's finish up the first volume of the show and get on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Jaune felt bad as he watched Pyrrha wave goodbye to another group of visiting students. While Beacon students were on break between semesters, they were drafted into helping prepare the school for the visiting students from the other academies. Seeing as how three-fourths of Team JNPR hailed from Mistral, the team had been _volunteered_ to serve as the welcoming committee for the students from Haven.

While the intentions of the instructors may have been good natured, there was an unfortunate side effect with having one of the greeters being an award-winning athlete. Jaune could only stand by while numerous fans would ask his girlfriend for autographs and selfies, Pyrrha being too polite to decline any request. Although when a few of the guys began to awkwardly ask for a date, Jaune none-too-subtly gave the red head a peck on the cheek and began asking about their dinner plans. The guys usually got the message at that point, if they didn't Nora was more than happy to point them to their rooms.

So as the spartan waved goodbye to yet another fan, Jaune decided that it was time his girlfriend experienced a staple of teenage life, ditching. Grabbing Ren's shoulder, the blond asked, "Hey, can you cover for us?" When the resident ninja nodded his head, having figured out Jaune's plan, the knight went to Pyrrha, encircling her in his arms as he said, "Hey Yang got her date yesterday, I think you've waited long enough for yours, don't you agree?"

The young woman grinned as she replied, "Oh definitely." She then asked, "Do we need to grab anything from the dorm?"

"Maybe a few things." Jaune answered as he led Pyrrha away from the latest group of arrivals, owing Ren and Nora for this.

As the couple retreated down the hall, the visiting student asked, "Hey, was that Pyrrha Nikos? I heard that she decided to go to Beacon, but I wasn't sure until now."

Turning, Ren was saw the speaker was a young man wearing a red jacket with a popped collar over a white shirt, a black tie, and a pair of yellow lensed goggles. While Ren wondered if the blue spiked hair was natural or dyed, but choose to focus on the statement as he replied, "Yes it was, but she wasn't feeling well so she decided to lay down. Nora and myself will show you around, mister?"

"Neptune Vasilias," the teen introduced himself as he held out a hand, which Ren took. The now named Neptune then pointed to the red headed boy to his left, who wore almost entirely white save for a red overcoat, "this is Scarlet David," he then pointed to his right to the dark skinned, tattooed, green haired boy who only wore an open white long coat and pants, "and this is Sage Ayana. We're Team SSSN."

"I'm Lie Ren, but please call me Ren, she's Nora. We're half of Team JNPR." Ren then asked, "It seems liked you're short a letter."

"Yeah," Neptune nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he explained, "our leader, Sun, is a monkey Faunus. The ticketing agent on out trip over here was…well less than kind. Rather than create a scene and risk our chance of competing, he told us to go ahead while he finds another way here."

"Well he sounds resourceful." Ren simply stated, covering Nora's mouth before she could pop in with a random thought. "Now, shall we begin the tour?"

* * *

Standing outside JNPR's room, Jaune waited patiently, yet could not stop his foot from tapping in anticipation, it didn't help matters that he had no one to talk to as he had just missed Team RWBY who had already headed down into Vale. Just as he was about to knock on the door and ask if Pyrrha was ready, it opened.

Jaune would always claim that Pyrrha was beyond beautiful, but all the same she looked breath taking outside her usual clothes. Instead of her armor, the young warrior wore a white shirt with a tan jacket that paired nicely with her red skirt, black leggings and brown knee-high boots. The only piece of clothing she kept from her usual style was her bronze circlet, although the accessory was mostly hidden by the young woman's hair that she now wore in a loose ponytail.

Snapping Jaune out of his thoughts, Pyrrha asked, "Ready to go?"

Offering his arm, Jaune replied, "After you." The corniness of the act, along with the sincerity of it, caused his date to chuckle, but she none-the-less took the offered limb. From there it was a short walk to the Bullhead dock, where the pair where just able to hop aboard a departing vessel.

As they couple took their seats, with Jaune concentrating on not losing the contents of his stomach, Pyrrha asked, "Jaune, I don't mean to compare experiences, but Yang told me…"

Although a little rude, Jaune interrupted Pyrrha as he said, "About me rocket bike, and you're curious why we're taking the Bullhead down to Vale instead?" When his date nodded yes, Jaune sighed before explaining, "Well despite both of you being intelligent, beautiful, and just all around amazing people, you and Yang are different people and enjoy different things. I didn't want to ruin things by giving you cookie cutter dates. While she wanted some excitement for her date, I figured you'd like to have a normal day." He then groaned as he added, "It also didn't help matters that my mom found out that the bike was shipped to Beacon and immediately moved to repossess it."

Once more Jaune heard a small laugh from Pyrrha, causing a smile of his own to appear. In that moment, the boy decided he could handle some self-embarrassment as long as he heard that laugh.

* * *

Thankfully for Jaune's stomach the trip only lasted about twenty minutes. Unfortunately as soon as the couple disembarked from the Bullhead, they were swarmed by a group of people, some carrying high-end camera equipment while others only had their Scrolls. Fearing that someone had revealed their plans, Jaune hastily grabbed Pyrrha's hand and was about to start running, only for someone in the crowd to yell out, "False alarm, it's not her!" With no small amount of grumbling, the crowd began to relax, although they didn't leave as the group took up positions around the station.

Wanting answers, Jaune strolled over to the nearest man before asking, "Could you tell me what that was all about?"

"Haven't you heard?" The man asked, not bothering to look up at Jaune as he swapped out one camera lens for another, "Pyrrha Nikos is rumored to have gotten herself a boytoy. Trouble is no one knows the guy's name and one of the Huntresses is keeping us from getting on campus, so we have to camp out down here for the money shot." The man then glanced up, finally taking notice of Jaune's armor, "Hey, you're a student, aren't you? Surely you've heard something?" Jaune opened his mouth to deny everything, only for the man to keep going, "Listen, I've got 100 Lien for you if you can just give me a hint to stay ahead of all these amateurs."

Once more Jaune was going to deny everything, only to think of a new plan, one that Ed enthusiastically approved of. Speaking quietly, Jaune stated, "You didn't hear it from me, but apparently Nikos became fast friends with the Schnee heiress, they regularly use Ice Queen's private jet to skip traffic and head to the hotel on Fifth and Main."

"Thanks kid." The man quickly said as he shoved the Lien card into Jaune's outstretched hand before proceeding to _casually_ shamble away, yet it seemed that the rest of the paparazzi noticed the man's movements and oh so subtly followed after him.

Now left alone, Jaune could see Pyrrha had a small, amused smile. Still, she crossed her arms as she stated, "That wasn't very nice Jaune."

"Perhaps," Jaune admitted, "but I think it's better than him and everyone else bothering you in your personal life." The boy then flashed the Lien card as he stated, "And he was nice enough to give us some pocket cash." Now that brought a full-blown smile to his date's face. Returning it with a grin of his own, Jaune once more offered his arm as he said, "Come, it's a bit of a walk but we should be able to beat the lunch rush."

* * *

It was a bit of a rush, but the couple did manage to make it to a dinner and order their food before the main rush came through. While Jaune enjoyed his chicken sandwich, Pyrrha had opted to try a cheeseburger, having never had the opportunity to taste one before. While they ate, the pair swapped stories of hobbies aside from training before Jaune asked a question.

"I hope this isn't too forward of me…" the blond began, only for his date to interrupt him.

"Says the boy dating two girls at the same time." Although Jaune gave a light glare, the red head could tell it was all in good fun and waved him to continue onward.

"Well," Jaune awkwardly continued, "you won the Mistral Regional Tournament four times and seemed to be on track for a fifth, so why give up sports to become a Huntress?"

"I suppose it does seem a bit odd." Pyrrha confessed before taking a sip of her soda. "If you had asked a younger me I would have said my dream was to be a grand champion, but that changed after my second victory. My mother arranged a victory tour of the kingdom to celebrate and attract sponsorships. I was enjoying myself until we stopped in a small village. During an autograph session, Grimm attacked."

"I take it that's the first time you saw any of them?" Jaune asked before taking a bite of his meal.

Nodding, the champion elaborated, "I was born in the city, my achievements allowed my family to relocate from the mid to the upper levels, but this was the first time I was past the city walls, much less seen an actual Grimm."

Thinking he knew where the story was going, Jaune gently grasped Pyrrha's hand as he said, "There's no shame in freezing up."

"But I didn't." was the simple reply, "I was wearing my armor, and my weapons were on the table. There was a little girl standing next to me when the attack started, and I didn't hesitate. I grabbed Milo, transformed it to rifle mode, and opened fire on a group of Creepers that were coming towards us. Thankfully the local militia quickly contained and eliminated the remaining Grimm, but in that moment, my actions just felt right, like I was destined to be a Huntress."

"Wow, that's certainly one way to find a career." While he enjoyed hearing Pyrrha giggle once more, Jaune waved down the waitress for the check, only for the young woman to bring the pair a bowl of ice cream drizzled in chocolate syrup. "Um, we didn't order this." Jaune tried to explain, only for the waitress to cut him off.

"It's policy honey, couples on their first date get a free desert." As the woman explained the reason for the free treat, Pyrrha took a spoon and with slight hesitation scooped up some of the treat for herself. Slightly nervous, since her mother never allowed her to have chocolate syrup before, the young warrior tasted the treat, her eyes going wide due to the rich flavor. Although the red head savored the taste, she quickly gulped down the treat before going back for more.

Just as he grabbed his own spoon so as to enjoy the complimentary desert, Jaune found that his girlfriend was already attacking the ice cream with gusto. Pausing just slightly, Pyrrha almost yelled out, "Jaune, it's so good!" Just as she was about to eat more, the champion suddenly froze, massaging her temple to try and ease the pain.

The knight couldn't help but chuckle as his date suffered from a case of brain freeze. Just as he attempted to take a spoonful of the treat for himself, he found it pulled just out of his reach. Leaning just slightly to the side, Jaune saw his partner pout as she declared, "Meanies don't get sweets." She then went back to eating the ice cream, this time at a much more subdued pace. Chuckling once more, Jaune let Pyrrha have the treat as he once more signaled for the check.

* * *

After about a hundred apologizes, and the promise to treating the red head to more chocolate sweets, Pyrrha finally forgave her boyfriend for laughing at her, although both knew she wasn't that angry. Currently the pair were strolling around the streets of Vale, wasting time as they headed towards a movie theater. As they rounded the corner, they by chance ran into Blake and Weiss, who were in the middle of an argument.

"You are an ignorant little girl!" Blake yelled as she stomped away from her team.

"How dare you talk to me like that, I am your teammate!" Weiss yelled back as she followed.

"You are a judgmental little girl, the fact you assume him to be with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!" Blake tried to explain.

Weiss, however, took the words to have a different meaning, "So you admit the White Fang is just a terrorist group!"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Blake stated through gritted teeth.

Not willing to let her perceived victory go, Weiss instead challenged, "Then why don't we get a second opinion on it?" While the girl was going to get another one of her teammates, or Ruby's new friend Penny, she happened to glance in the direction of Jaune and Pyrrha. Quickly grabbing onto the pair, the heiress asked, "Did you two not hear our debate? What do you take as the meaning of Blake's statement?"

"Yeah, I'm not touching this one." Jaune declared, not wanting any part of this. "Also, I'm not the best person to ask, I've got some personal bias."

While Blake glared, Weiss grinned and gloated, "You see, even Arc can tell that most Faunus turn out to be nothing more than scoundrels."

The air around the group suddenly turned cold as Jaune asked, "Just what made you assume that I was on your side in this?" While Weiss was speechless, Jaune continued, "You want my personal opinion? I believe that most Faunus, if given the chance, would act like most humans. I believe that the White Fang originated with good intentions, but that the current leadership have twisted the ideals of the organization into something unrecognizable." He then steeped into the rapier wielder's personal space as he asked, "Do you want to know a dirty little secret Weiss? If you take a look at the two genetically, there's virtually no difference between a human or Faunus." He then gave the girl some food for thought as he said, "You know, the Schnee name only became well known because of your grandfather, I wonder what your family was like before him. If you're a carrier for the genes, Faunus characteristics usually appear every fourth of fifth generation, so is having a Faunus child or grandchild going to be what it takes for you to get an attitude adjustment, or are you going to grow up sooner?"

With his piece said, Jaune began to walk away from the group, Pyrrah following soon after, but not before giving Weiss a look of disappointment. Now left alone with her team, Weiss finally collected herself as she called out, "That insufferable buffoon, it's like he thinks I insulted his family!"

"You actually did." Yang explained, "You insinuated one of his younger sisters is destined to become a criminal."

Although taken aback, the Schnee tried to recover as she said, "I'm sure an adopted sibling won't have any bearing on the Arc name."

"Not adopted, she's blood, part of a set of triplets." Yang further explained, to which Weiss had not rebuttal.

Now it was Blake's turn to smirk in victory as she asked, "What's the matter Weiss, can't handle that you were wrong about the Faunus?"

Returning to her argument, Weiss gave a glare as she said, "I said _most_ Faunus, not all. I'm sure that with the right family, such as the Arc's, anyone can be an upstanding citizen, including a Faunus. It's the one's without such influence that have me concerned."

As half her team descended back into their argument, Ruby asked her sister, "Should we do something?"

"I'm sure they'll stop, eventually." Yang replied, leaving the 'hopefully' unsaid as she had something else on her mind, such as why Weiss held Jaune's family in such high regards.

* * *

After a few blocks, Pyrrha managed to catch up to her date, Jaune having paused to calm himself. Hesitantly, the spartan reached out and placed a hand on her date's shoulder. When Jaune turned, his girlfriend asked, "Better?"

"Yeah," Jaune replied, before apologizing, "sorry about that. I tend not to anger easily, but it's a different story when someone talks about my friends and family."

"I understand." Pyrrha replied as she tried to comfort her teammate. "So, are we still seeing that Spruce Willis movie?"

Jaune smiled at Pyrrha's attempt to cheer him up, but asked, "Are you sure you want to see an action movie? I mean the plot's almost nonexistent and everyone just speaks in one liners."

"Actually, that sounds grand." Pyrrha replied with a smile. "I don't know about you, but I could use some pointless fun right now."

* * *

As Jaune had earlier said, dating Pyrrha was different from dating Yang. While the previous night ended with some making out with the blond bombshell, Pyrrha only gave Jaune a few quick kisses. Even then she only did so when the couple were in private. Of course, Jaune didn't hold this against the girl, as he said before he knew dating each girl would be a different experience and wasn't going to push them towards something they were uncomfortable with.

Seeing as how the couple had caught a late showing of the movie, the afternoon had quickly turned to night. A sort bullhead ride later, and Jaune and Pyrrha were back on campus and walking back to their room. From across the hall, they heard the muted voices of Blake and Weiss, evidently still having the same argument they started back in Vale. While ignoring the girls, Pyrrha turned to her date and said, "I had a good time today, I'm glad you showed me how to ditch."

"And I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Jaune replied with a smile. As the two stood next to the door, Jaune ideally commented, "You know, if this was a cliché movie, now would be the point where the night ends with a kiss."

Pyrrha returned the smile as she leaned forward. Jaune made to mimic his girlfriend's actions, only for their attention to be drawn across the hall when they heard Blake call out, "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Silence followed before the door to Team RWBY's room flew open, Blake rushing out, bawling over the couple before disappearing down the hallway.

While Ruby ran out to try and catch her friend, Pyrrha asked Yang and Weiss, "What was that about?"

Before either girl could ask, Jaune spoke up, saying, "I'm guessing Blake accidently revealed herself as a Faunus."

"How did you know that?" Yang asked.

Jaune could have given a number of reasons as to why he knew, such as the car ears hidden beneath the girl's bow or the more personal reason. Instead, he chose the more logical option as he explained, "I could understand with Yang and Ruby, but really Weiss, with all the international business the Schnee Dust Company does, how did you not figure it out when the current chief of Menagerie is Ghira _Belladonna_?"

While Yang ah-ed in understanding, Weiss demanded, "You knew and never told anyone!"

"If she was hiding it from you then she had her reasons to do so." Jaune fired back before ending the conversation by heading into his dorm room, Pyrrha following soon after, leaving the befuddled members of Ream RWBY in the hallway.

* * *

While Jaune and Pyrrha enjoyed their time in town, Pyrrah soon had to contend with another teenage experience, detention. Turns out despite not missing any classes, the duo still left campus without notifying any of the staff. As such, the pair were stuck in detention for the weekend, Glynda deciding to have the pair clean up the battle arena, wanting to have "her" classroom as presentable as possible for the visiting students. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only bad news of the weekend as Blake had not returned either. Of course when Ruby said her team were going to go into the city to try and find their missing teammate, although Jaune suspected one member had a different motive aside from reuniting the team, Team JNPR offered their help but were politely declined, the team leader saying she didn't want to drag anyone else into their drama.

Still it didn't feel right to Jaune to just sit around and do nothing. Admittedly he probably didn't need to go into the city to mail some letters back home, but while he was down there it probably wouldn't hurt to just look around. Almost without realizing it, the blond found himself in front of a familiar night club. Despite being hours away from opening for the day, Jaune tried the door to find it unlocked.

A short walk through deserted hallways later, and Jaune came to the center of the nightclub, where Junior was directing his men around while taking notes on a clipboard. The giant of the man was the only one to hear the doors open, giving a glance up to see Jaune coming down the stairs. Returning his attention back to his clipboard, the information broker called out, "We're closed right now Arc, if you want to have another date with Blondie you'll need to come back later."

"I'm actually here for your other business, a friend of mine ran away over the weekend and now we're trying to find her." Jaune explained.

"Look kid, I'm good, but not that good." Junior began, "If your friend ran off by themselves, two days isn't enough time to let rumors run. Now if you had an idea where your friend might be going, or what they're trying to accomplish, then maybe I can point you in the right direction."

Trying to remember what Blake and Weiss were arguing about, Jaune ultimately said, "She had a fight with her teammate about the morality of the White Fang and whether they were behind the recent string of Dust robberies."

"Now that's something I can work with." Junior said as he pulled out his Scroll. "Let's see, most of the Dust stores in the city have already been hit, so it's unlikely the White Fang, or whoever are behind the robberies, are going to be in the city tonight."

"So then where will they strike next?" Jaune asked.

"Now that is the question." Junior commented before an alert came in on his Scroll. "Now that's interesting. Just got a message from a friend of mine down at the docks. A Schnee ship just pulled in today, captain paid customs to fast track them to unload the cargo."

"If someone were after Dust, that's where they'd be. A big haul with little security." Jaune stated as he got up to leave, that was until Junior cleared his throat. Knowing what the man wanted, the teen was about to grab his wallet until Junior waved the money away.

"Keep your Lien Arc, I'll take a favor instead."

After a moment, Jaune stated, "I'm not doing anything illegal or providing you any security codes."

"Relax, I know you Arcs are too clean cut for anything like that." Junior replied, waving away the teen's concern, "My men got double booked for some jobs. All you're doing is providing some free labor to a perfectly legal business. Expect a call in a few days." The man then pointed to the exit and said, "Now get out of here before the twins find out you're here, the last thing I need is your girlfriend tearing up the place again because you got kidnapped."

Jaune nodded his head in thanks before complying with the request. After all, it was a long walk to the docks. He mentally debated sending a text to Yang, but ultimately decided against it as there was no guarantee Blake would be there. On the topic of his girlfriend, he hoped Yang was having a better time than he was.

* * *

"Alright, thanks anyway." Yang said as she and Weiss walked out of what had been the hundredth shop that day in their search for Blake. Initially all of the remaining members of Team RWBY had been looking for the wayward Faunus, but when Penny, a green eyed, orange haired, grey dress wearing, _slightly_ awkward girl, made a reappearance…the older members of the team felt it best to let their leader work on her people skills.

As the pair walked away from the store, Weiss spoke up, saying, "As I said, the police are the most viable option. Outside of Ozpin, they have the most available resources to look for, and if necessary hold, Blake."

"Will you give it a rest already?" Yang asked, growing increasingly irritated at the accusations leveled at her partner.

"Like I said before Yang, the innocent don't run."

"Unless you don't give them any other options." Yang fired back, her patience now gone. "Think about the other night, the argument you guys were having didn't exactly make Blake feel the most welcomed, so could she honestly expect to have her side of the story listened to?" While the heiress was about to respond, Yang didn't let her, saying, "Face it Weiss, outside of me and Ruby, out teammates don't know each other that well. We didn't know how hard your dad made things for you as a kid, who's to say Blake didn't experience something similar?"

As the pair continued walking down the street, Weiss remained quiet. Between what Jaune had said yesterday, and what Yang had just said, the young woman had a lot to think about.

* * *

Due to the timing of the day, Jaune wasn't able to take any of Vale's buses to the docks, meaning the teen had to walk from one side of the city to the other. He had debated flagging down a taxi, but ultimately decided against it. As such it was well past sunset when the teen finally made it to the docks, but his luck seemed to turn as there was no security patrolling the industrial section of the area.

As he walked from one stack of shipping crates to the next, Jaune tried to figure out where Blake or the Dust thieves could be. From the corner of his eye, the teen saw some movement. Quickly flattening himself against the nearest shipping crate, the knight barely leaned out to see the back of a blond teen wearing a white shirt and jeans rushing towards one of the storage buildings. Jaune also noticed two small details, the other teen seemed to be carrying something based on his hunched posture, and the other blond was a Faunus as evident by the yellow monkey tail.

Not knowing why anyone else would be at the docks this late, much less a Faunus, Jaune decided to follow the other teen, only to regret the decision as the monkey Faunus easily scaled the side of the building even without his arms due to the assistance of his tail. Knowing he couldn't hope to match such a feat, Jaune quickly jogged around the side of the structure where he happened upon a fire escape. One quick, Aura enhanced jump later and the knight was quickly scaling up the side of the building, cresting the roof to see Blake and the monkey Faunus sitting at the edge, overlooking some shipping containers belonging to the Schnee Dust Company. He was just close enough to hear the guy ask, "Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" to which Blake responded with a glare, causing the guy to say, "Okay, too soon."

Already tired from his long walk and scaling the building, Jaune didn't even attempt to be stealthy as he called out, "Is this where you've been the past few days?" As Blake turned her head, her eyes grew wide at seeing Jaune, the blond continued "Seriously, do you know how worried you made Yang and Ruby?"

The cat Faunus would have responded, had a Bullhead not flown in low over the group. Once the airship landed in the available open space, Jaune could plainly see a group of people disembark, all wearing matching uniforms that consisted of a black hoodie underneath a white vest, a red beast head with three claw marks displayed on the back, each wearing a Grimm mask to hide their identity.

As the trio of teens watched the people below, Blake groaned before saying, "Oh no."

"Is that them?" the other Faunus asked.

"Yes, it's the White Fang." Blake confirmed.

Knowing what the source of the previous argument was, Jaune asked, "You knew it was them, but you wanted to be wrong, didn't you?" When Blake nodded, the knight commented, "Still doesn't make any sense though. I get wanting a lot of Dust, but in such a quantity? And since when does a ragtag group have the capital to buy Bullheads?"

The answer came when a loud voice called out to the White Fang grunts, "Hey, would you animals hurry up!" Stepping out into the light was the notorious Roman Torchwick, complete with white coat, bowler hat, cane and cigar. "We aren't the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves you know."

At seeing the thief seemingly command the Faunus, Blake stated, "You're right Jaune, this doesn't make sense. There's no way the White Fang would work with humans, especially ones like _him_." Standing up, the girl drew her katana as she declared, "I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to get some answers." With that she jumped off the roof and began to silently make her way through the maze of shipping containers to ambush the crime boss.

Now left alone with Jaune, the monkey Faunus snacked on an apple as he asked, "So why exactly did you decide to track her down? Is she usually like this? I'm Sun by the way, Sun Wukung."

"In order," Jaune answered, "she's the partner to one of my girlfriends, I don't actually know since I haven't talked to her too much outside of some book recommendations, and I'm Jaune Arc."

"Cool, cool." The now named Sun replied as he began snacking on a banana as Blake revealed herself, capturing Torchwick and revealing herself as a Faunus to the assembled White Fang grunts. The knight's words finally clicked as Sun spat his banana and asked, "Wait, did you say one of your girlfriends, as in multiple? How does that even work?" Before Jaune could answer, the two teens heard and then saw two more Bullheads hovering around the area, their attention was then shifted back to the ground where Torchwick had taken the opportunity to free himself from Blake, firing a Dust round from his cane-gun into the ground to force the pair apart before firing more rounds at the fleeing Faunus. "You know what, explain it to me later if we live through this." With that Sun grabbed the banana peel and gave it a well-aimed toss, the garbage landing on the brim of Torchwick's hat before the monkey Faunus jumped off the roof and delivered a double kick to the man's chest.

Now left alone on the rooftop, Jaune observed the fight. Sun easily handled the White Fang grunts with his weapon, a collapsible red staff. He also observed as Blake rejoined the fight before the pair of Faunus double teamed Torchwick, revealing Sun's staff also transformed into a set of nunchakus that fired shotgun shells. Although it appeared that pair were doing fine, an extra set of hands never hurt. Just as Jaune was about to leap into the action, he felt a familiar pull in his gut as Ed called out ' _ **Watch out kid!**_ **'**

Quickly jumping to the left, Jaune narrowly avoided the thin blade that now sliced the air were his head had been. Turning just slightly, he saw a short woman grin at him, her mixed-matched eyes matching her pink and brown hair. If the attack wasn't enough proof of her allegiance to Torchwick, the woman's style matched the thief's, a white jacket, although this one had a pink lining, and dark brown pants with white knee-high boots. Still grinning, the woman twirled her blade before placing it back in its sheath, surprising Jaune when she pressed a button to reveal it to be an umbrella that she twirled over her shoulder.

Now recovered from his shock, Jaune quickly drew his own blade and expanded his shield, charging forward in an attempted shield bash. The woman only grin as the blond got closer before she collapsed her umbrella, then with ease reached forward and gripped the top of the Arc's shield to vault herself over the boy, delivering a kick to the back of his head as she went. Pivoting quickly, Jaune attempted to deliver a thrust with his sword, only for his opponent to lean to the left. With his first attack failing, the knight attempted a downward slash, only for the woman to spin out of range, the smile never leaving her face.

Growing frustrated, Jaune was about launch another flurry of attacks, only for Ed to once more call out, ' _ **Get a hold of yourself hatchling! That isn't going to work and you know it! Think about how this woman fights.**_ '

'Highly acrobatic and flexible,' Jaune began mentally breaking down his opponent's fighting style, holding up his shield for defense, 'only weapon she appears to have is the hidden sword in that umbrella. She's relying on dodging and redirecting my attacks rather than attacking, she probably is waiting for me to tire before attacking with her blade.' With that Jaune readjusted his stance to a more solid one as he settled into a defensive battle plan.

Evidently, his opponent didn't like this development, her grin finally falling. Jaune guessed she had activated her Semblance as one moment the woman stood in front of him, then he heard the sound of breaking glass as she disappeared from sight. Once more he felt the tug in his gut, quickly turning as he brought up his shield to block the blow, however it seemed the woman anticipated this. Using her umbrella as a staff, Jaune's opponent knocked the shield to the side before pirouetting into his personal space, her high kick soon meeting his face, knocking the teen to the ground and launching him back. As Jaune scrambled back up, he saw the woman was once more smirking, but her grin fell as something green flashed behind the teen, an explosion occurred shortly after. Now the woman gained a look of determination as she charged forward. Jaune once more raised his shield, only for the woman to once more vault over the defense. However, instead of a kick, this time the woman used her legs to put Jaune in a chock hold. Using her momentum, the diminutive fighter tossed the taller teen off the roof of the warehouse before disappearing once more.

As Jaune hit the ground, hard, the air left his lungs. After a few minutes of panic, Jaune finally got his breath back as he thought aloud, "Thank God for Aura."

' _ **On that, hatchling, we can agree. However, now we have a different problem aside from your previous embarrassment.**_ **'** Jaune would have asked what the Grimm meant, only to hear sirens approaching fast. "Seriously, now the cops decide to arrive? Who else is going to show up, Ozpin?"

* * *

As he exited the interrogation room, Ozpin went over everything he'd learned. From interviewing Miss Belladonna and Mister Wukong, the Beacon Headmaster confirmed that Miss Belladonna had indeed accidently revealed her status as a Faunus and her former association with the White Fang. Thankfully it also appeared she had not revealed the full extent of her activities, such as the train robbery. Truthfully the man was just happy that he kept good relations with Vale's chief of police so that he could questions and release the Faunus students before a more closed minded detective could conduct the interview. Still, his work was not done, the man still needed to question Miss Rose and Mister Arc about their actions at the docks, particularly about who this Penny person was and her capabilities.

Just as the man was making his way to the room where Mister Arc was waiting, his Scroll vibrated. Taking the device from his pocket, the headmaster raised an eyebrow at seeing the alert was a message from Qrow. Truthfully this message should have been sent along ago given the current situation with Amber, but if Ozpin's memory served, his scout said he'd be out of contact while tracking down some sources to better look into the events surrounding the assault on Amber.

His interest peaked, Ozpin opened the message, his blood running cold as he read the words 'Queen has pawns.' To anyone outside his inner circle, the words were some nonsense gibberish, but the headmaster knew the message's meaning. Qrow must have done some outstanding detective work to draw this conclusion, that the group who attacked Amber hadn't acted alone. Given that the events happened in Mistral, Ozpin would need to contact Leo once he was back in his office. Afterwards, since Amber's initial treatments were over, he'd need make arrange to transfer the young woman from Atlas to the vault while a more permanent solution could be thought of. After all, it wouldn't due to have a Maiden sitting out in the open for one of _her_ agents to finish off.

Yet these were concerns for another day, today's concern was the discipline of his wayward students. With that in mind, the headmaster put his Scroll away and opened the door as he said, "Now Mister Arc, perhaps you could explain…" however the man soon realized he was addressing an empty room.

Finding it unlikely that the teen had somehow snuck out of the police station without alerting anyone, Ozpin grabbed a passing detective and asked, "Excuse me, but could you tell me where Mister Arc went?"

"The blond brat?" the man asked before explaining, "I couldn't tell ya. About five minutes after we started processing him, some lawyer comes charging in here, waving papers around and yelling about some 'diplomatic immunity' bullshit." The man paused to take a drink from his mug before giving his own opinion, "You ask me, sound like a lot of crap but the force didn't need the bad press, especially with the city's next round of budget cuts coming up, so top brass decided to let the kid go. Ya need anything else?"

"No, that will be all. Thank you." Ozpin replied as he thought to himself, 'So it seems my suspicions are correct, Mister Arc holds _that_ position. This certainly makes things more interesting.' As the man began to walk to the room where Miss Rose waited, he finished his thought, 'I really should give the boy some form of punishment, but could I really deny anyone the experience of the next few days? After all, I did model the school system so that the students were on break and could have some fun during Halloween.'

* * *

As she browsed through the racks, Yang still couldn't find the right costume. She remembered when she was younger how upset she and Ruby would be when Halloween fell on a school day, especially since the holiday was also her little sister's birthday, but that was no longer a concern now that the sisters attended Beacon. The blond really wished she could thank the person who structured the school schedule. While there was a shortened summer for the first year, it was worth it to have the week of Halloween free to prepare and enjoy the holiday, whether it be for trick-or-treating or for partying. As the brawler picked up one costume to examine it, she quickly shook her head before replacing it, causing her last remaining shopping partner to speak up.

"What exactly are you looking for again? We could ask for some help, maybe someone else found it while they were looking." Pyrrha supplied. Yang, however, didn't immediately respond as she remembered that the group had initially been bigger. Upon hearing that Yang managed to get invitations to a costume party, nearly her whole team were up to go shopping, save for Blake who felt like staying in the dorm and reading. She had extended the offer to Team JNPR, but only Pyrrha accepted the offer. Ren explained how he always made his and Nora's costumes while Jaune said he already had one prepared. Once the four young women had gotten to Vale and found one of the pop-up Halloween stores, Ruby and Weiss quickly split off from Yang and Pyrrha to look for costumes of their own. A short while ago Yang had gotten a text from her sister saying they had found their costumes and where heading back to Beacon, right as Yang found the perfect costume for Blake, but the blond still struggled to find the right outfit for herself.

Finally answering Pyrrha, Yang explained, "It's not like I'm look for a specific character or anything, it's more like I'm trying to find something that's the right mix of scary and sexy."

Now knowing what to look for, or at least she though she did, Pyrrha began sorting through another rack as she asked, "How exactly did you get these invitations again? From the gossip I heard it's a pretty exclusive event."

"Well Junior is the one throwing it, and the guy owes me a few favors." Yang explained as she decided against a clown costume, those were scary for an entirely different reason. "And I may have named dropped our mutual boyfriend."

Although shaking her head, Pyrrha still smiled as she said, "In any case I hope you all enjoy yourselves."

Pausing in her search, Yang turned and asked, "Wait, you're not coming?"

"I wish I could," the champion began, "but several of my sponsorship contracts have clauses about me keeping a good image," she paused to pull a costume off the shelf, this one of herself although the chest line of the corset was a bit lower and the skirt a few inches shorter. The young woman then continued in a strained voice as she said, "Although that seems to be an afterthought in some cases."

Yang nodded in agreement before returning to her own search, and finally finding the perfect costume. As she pulled the outfit off the rack, another costume caught her eye. Grabbing it as well, the blond bombshell asked, "Hey P-Money, those public image clauses, do they still count if nobody knows it's you?"

* * *

Excitement filled the air on the night of October 30th, unofficially named Grimm Night. The night before Halloween was notorious to many police officers as the time of the year when the number of reported pranks and other forms of mischief increased to a near unimaginable level. However, many others revealed in this night as a chance to attempt to have the party to end all parties, many Beacon students included in the latter group.

Currently a group of students were standing near the front of a long line, waiting to be let into a warehouse. "Wow," Ruby gushed as she examined two of her friend's costumes, "I can't believe these are handmade! "

"I take pride in my work." Ren answered simply. The boy himself wore a dark blue, Mistral style long sleeved robe with a crane embroidered on the front. He also wore a small red cap with a piece of paper with some kanji characters stapled to it, while his face and hands were painted a pale grey to complete the look of a Jiangshi, a hopping vampire.

"Oh don't be so modest Ren, your sowing skills are amazing!" Nora loudly proclaimed. In stark contrast to her partner's muted colors, Nora wore a bright pink unitard which featured a white skirt. Nora finished this costume with a pair of white knee high boots with pink laces, a stylized warhammer on her chest, a white cape pinned to her shoulders, and a pink domino mask. "Now let's get this party started so that Madam Hammer may bring justice to the dance floor!"

"We still have to wait for Junior to open the doors, and for everyone else to show up." Ruby explained. Unlike her sister, Ruby had focused entirely on the scary aspect of her costume. For once the girl wasn't wearing her signature red hood, however she still had a lot of black in her outfit. Initially the girl had been ecstatic to find a Beowolf costume, complete with a mask that moved its jaw when the wearer spoke! Yet when she put the costume back on in preparation for tonight, so found that while most of the costume worked well, the mask felt suffocating to her. Being the resourceful person she was, Ruby made some quick modifications. Cutting the mask in half, the girl sanded the rough edges so she could keep the movable muzzle while a quick trip back to the Halloween store yielded a pair of fake animal ears, some white face paint to create her own Grimm mask, and a set of red contact lenses to fully transform the little girl into a vicious monster.

"I don't know about everyone else, but I'm here." Weiss announced as she joined the group, Ruby snickering at her friend's choice of costume, a rather large and poofy ice blue and white dress complete with a crown. As Weiss stood with the group, she commented, "I hope this place opens soon, we're not exactly in the best part of town."

"Ah, don't worry Ice Queen," Ruby commented, earning a snigger from Nora and a glare from Weiss, "I'm sure Madam Hammer can protect you."

Before Weiss could launch into a tirade, Jaune called out to them, "There you guys are, I thought you'd be towards the back of the line. You all look great by the way."

"Thanks fearless leader," Nora called back, "you look good to…" the group then saw that Jaune was dressed very different than usual. The first noticeable change was that his blond hair had been spray dyed a dark black that matched the rest of his wardrobe. Black vest, black shirt, black pants, black gloves, even a black long coat with fur lining the collar. The only splash of collar from the outfit was the domino mask, but this one looked more like a Grimm mask with its bone white coloring and reflective red eyes. After several seconds, Nora finished by asking, "what are you supposed to be again?"

At first Jaune thought his friends were joking, only to see looks of utter confusion, "Come on, none of you get this?"

"No Jaune, none of us do, not even me. So if you're done with the theatrics could you just tell us already?" Weiss demanded.

"I'm the Phantom Nevermore, ring any bells?" Still getting blank looks, Jaune elaborated, "You know, the thief in an untold number of stories? Sometimes he's the villain, sometimes he's the hero but he always gets the treasure and the girl? You all really don't recall any of this, the books are huge where I come from." When the group collectively shook their heads no, Jaune sighed before saying, "You all suck. Where are the two girls who will actually appreciate this?"

"Well I saw several Pyrrha's, each with varying degrees of accuracy, on my way here, but no Yang, who I really want to have a _talk_ with." Everyone in the group regarded Blake as the Faunus made her appearance. Apparently, Yang wasn't done punishing her teammate for running off as while Ruby went to the scary side of the costume spectrum, Blake wore an outfit that was decidedly on the sexy end. While her ears were uncovered, a purple scarf hid her nose and mouth. The color of the fabric matched that of the mostly open kimono-like shirt. In truth the costume probably had an undershirt that Yang had neglected to give her partner, resulting in Blake improvising a chest binding with some gaze. The only other articles of clothing the young woman wore were a pair of shorts that didn't even go past the hem of her shirt while fishnet stocking covered her legs. The ensemble was complete with some ankle cut tabi shoes. Seeing everyone's eyes grow wide at her outfits, Blake threatened, "Not one word."

And was promptly ignored as Weiss stated, "Why, how daring of you Blake. Hoping to impress a certain monkey boy?"

"Sun's not coming." Blake explained, "He sent me a text saying his team wanted to have a little chat about him going off on his own and not checking in. And don't read too much into me having his number."

"Well that's too bad, he certainly seemed like a nice guy." Jaune commented, distracting Blake as Ruby took a quick photo, no doubt to share with the absent blond later. "Still, that means we're waiting on two more before we're all here. Didn't you guys all start getting ready at the same time?"

Weiss was about to explain how some of them got into their costumes quicker than others, when Yang made her presence known, "Don't worry Jaune, we're here." Expecting another set of scary, or at least mildly playful, costumes, Jaune's jaw literally dropped as he basked in the sight of his girlfriends.

It would seem that Yang had definitely found the right mix of scary and sexy. What might have passed before as a red and black stripped sweater was shredded in half to reveal Yang's flat stomach while a large cut across the chest exposed the bombshell's matching red bra and made no attempt to hide her cleavage. Below the waist, Yang showed just as much skin with a pair extremely short denim cut offs, her left leg clad in a fishnet stocking while the right was bare. Completing the outfit were some small heeled ankle high shoes, a brown fedora perched on her wild mane of hair, and a glove on her right hand with a rubber blade on each finger.

While Pyrrha's costume was a bit scarier, it was also quite daring. Most of the Spartan's upper body was covered due to the brown, long sleeved jacket. However the young woman wore it open, revealing the dark green tank top that showed a hint more cleavage than the red head's usual combat outfit. Like Yang's top, the cloth was also cut in half, which did an excellent job of showcasing the champion's abs. Unlike Yang, Pyrrha wore a set of jeans, although they might as well have been chaps given how much of the red head's thighs and shins where shown through the cutouts of the material, Jaune suspected a similar amount of skin was exposed in the back as well. Like Yang, Pyrrha had a few accessories, which consisted of a rubber machete she currently held and the ice hockey goalie mask just barely visible behind the curtain of red hair the young woman had worn down this evening.

"So Lover Boy," Yang asked as the pair walked forward, a bit more of a swing in her hips than usual. She then traced Jaune's jawline with one of her fake blades as she finished, "do we look like a sweet dream, or a beautiful nightmare?"

All Jaune could managed was to stand there, slack jawed as his brain attempted to reboot. Seemingly louder than usual, Ed called out, ' _ **Hatchling, either runaway or embrace this. Right now even I'm not sure which is the right answer.**_ ' Hearing the voice in his head shocked Jaune back into actions as he strutted towards the ladies.

Stepping between the two, Jaune gently grabbed their hands before spinning the pair towards him, his hands going to their waists as he pulled them close. "Sorry about that ladies, I just had to make sure I was still alive after seeing such heavenly beauty."

The display caused several people in line to wolf whistle. While Pyrrha was no doubt blushing under her mask, Yang just gave a happy smirk as she said, "Nice save their Jaune, real smooth."

Any further conversation halted when the group heard the bay door to the warehouse opening. Despite the occasion, Junior himself hadn't dressed up, although his men certainly had, each of the goons putting their own spin on what a zombie should look like. As he stepped away, Junior didn't say anything, just nodded his head to indicate the party had started as his men went down the line collecting the invitations.

Although the two teams were towards the front of the line, it still took a while before they were able to enter the building. Surprisingly, almost immediately after entering, the group had to pause so as not to fall over a handrail stopping the crowd from falling down to the subfloor, where the dance floor was already occupied. Across the way was the DJ station along with one of several tables that served drinks and snacks.

As they absorbed the sight, Weiss commented, "Well this is certainly different from the parties back in Atlas."

"Yep," Yang agreed, "it's quite a shindig." She then turned to her sister, declaring, "Happy early birthday Ruby, enjoy your first Grimm Night party! Now two ground rules, Junior usually does a good job policing his more public gatherings but don't accept drinks from anyone except Junior's workers. Also, although I'm sure you could handle yourself, don't follow strangers into dark places." She then ruffled her little sister's hair as she finished, "Other than that, have fun while I go redefine the meaning of a double date." With that the blond grabbed Pyrrha and their mutual boyfriend before dragging the pair with her down to the dance floor.

At seeing her sister's retreating form, Ruby asked, "So, ah, what do we do?"

"I guess have a good time like everyone else." Blake said as she began walking away leaving her team leader alone with her partner, Nora having already drug Ren off somewhere. With the group disembarking so quickly, Ruby quickly turned to her partner, hands clasped together and lips trembling in an unsaid request, her Beowolf costume surprisingly helping out.

Releasing a sigh, but already knowing she probably wouldn't enjoy herself that much alone anyway, Weiss said, "Fine, I'll stick around," and was promptly subjected to a tight hug from the younger girl. While the Ice Queen tried to pry herself free, she hoped that the rest of her friends would have a good time.

* * *

While Blake would ordinarily have somewhat of a good time at a party like this one, now wasn't one of those times. Stalking around the edge of the dance floor, the Faunus couldn't help but shake her head as her partner danced rather close to Jaune, the boy being sandwiched between the other blond and Pyrrha. Feeling her Scroll go off, the girl pulled out her phone to see a text from Sun.

'Hey, my team finally decided to let me out on parole. Went by your room to chat but saw it empty. You run away again?'

Rolling her eyes, Blake shot off a quick reply, 'No, got dragged to a Grimm Night party. Team may still be a bit mad at me, do NOT appreciate the costume that was chosen.'

The reply came not a minute later and actually gave the girl a small smile, 'Would trade places with you in a heartbeat.' The next message made the annoyance come back, 'Any chance of getting a pic of your costume?'

'Not a chance.' Blake simply replied before putting her Scroll away. Turning back to the party, she saw that Pyrrha had begun mirroring Yang's dance moves, to Jaune's great enjoyment. A quick scan of the room revealed nearly all of the guests were enjoying themselves.

Coming to a decision, Blake mentally told herself, 'Okay, you are going to forget about everything for tonight and just enjoy yourself.' However, as she made her way over to one of the tables, one of the other guests called out.

"Hey honey!" Turning, Blake gave a slight glare to the man who had obviously been drinking before the doors even opened. Unaffected by the look, the man just strolled forward as he asked, "You got any other kitty parts? Maybe a rough tongue?" He didn't know what hit him as Blake silently stepped forward and kneed him in the groin. As she walked away, the Faunus had a minor internal debate about keeping the shoes but had a much bigger internal issue to deal with.

'Relax? How can I when people like that scum, people like Torchwick are still out there making things worse for Human-Faunus relations?' Grabbing a bottle of water as she passed by the table, Blake found a quite spot at the far wall where she could spend the night as her resolve hardened. 'I don't know how that thief got the White Fang to work for him, but I'm sure as hell going to get some answers.' As she settled in to make sure none of her friends did anything stupid, Nora finding a mechanical bull at the other end to the building counted as borderline since Ren was chaperoning her, Blake knew what she had to do.

* * *

Ruby was unsure what to do. While her and Weiss were having a pleasant conversation, neither teen could really say they were enjoying the party. Ruby didn't want to hold her friend back from having a good time, but at the same time she didn't want to be left alone. Maybe she should follow her father's advice and try to make some new friends, as daunting as that challenge was. As she waited her turn at the snack table, the girl noticed someone else that looked around her age but also seemed like they were trying to hide themselves away from the crowd. Deciding to try and help a fellow socially awkward teen, Ruby left the line and started walking towards the person, only to lose her nerve and begin turning around. Yet as she began walking back to the line, something snapped in the girl. 'No, this is my first Grimm Night party and I'm going to talk to at least one person!' Steeling herself before she lost her nerve again, Ruby marched over to the green haired boy and called out, "Hey, nice farmer costume."

"It's not a costume." The boy lowly mumbled.

"Wait, you mean you wear that every day?" Ruby asked, referring to his white shirt, orange gloves and suspenders, and multicolored handkerchief hanging out of his back pocket. She also got a closer look at the boy, seeing his skin had a deep tan while his eyes were an entrancing hazel that turned yellow around the pupil. "Doesn't that kinda defeat the purpose of coming to a costume party?"

"I didn't even know this was a party." The boy began, "My Aunt and I came here from Mistral for some business, something regarding the bank or something like that. We got separated and I don't know my way around the city. I saw everyone outside and thought I could get some help but ended up being pushed in here with the crowd." He then nervously ran his fingers through his hair and began hyperventilating as he finished, "And now I'm too afraid to speak up and get throw back outside where I have no idea where I'm at."

Putting a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, Ruby tried to calm him down by saying, "Hey, it's okay, I won't rat you out." As the boy's breathing began to slow, Ruby asked, "Why didn't you just call your Aunt?"

"I don't have a Scroll, farming isn't exactly the richest profession." The teen explained.

"Here," Ruby said as she offered her own Scroll, "go ahead and let your Aunt know that you're okay and ask where to meet up." The boy nodded, typing out a quick message as Ruby asked, "Better?"

"A little, yeah." The boy confessed before the Scroll dinged again. "Aunt M's happy I'm okay, told me where to go, and told me I might as well enjoy myself for a while."

"That's great!" Ruby exclaimed as she took back her Scroll. "I'm Ruby by the way, want a drink?"

"I could use a soda," The boy confessed, "and I'm Oscar."

Ruby nodded as she zoomed back to the snack table but couldn't help but think she was forgetting something. A short distance away, Weiss just shook her head, a bit peeved at being abandoned but that feeling was drowned out at the happiness at seeing her friend enjoying herself. At least one member of Team RWBY would have a good night, having lost track of the rest of her team.

* * *

Yang could honestly say that the only thing equal to her level of enjoyment was her level of exhaustion. Having spent the past few hours on the dance floor with Pyrrha and Jaune, the trio enjoyed themselves and impressed those around them. Yet despite being Beacon students, there was still a limit to their stamina, or at least for most of them.

"How can you still want to dance?" Pyrrha asked as both her and Yang leaned on their mutual boyfriend as he lead them to a seating area.

"A lot of practice, I've had to keep up with seven younger sisters." Jaune explained as he helped the girls onto the couch, earning an eye roll from Yang.

"Whatever," the brawler said before stating, "at least I learned you'll have enough energy to keep up with me once we do a different kind of dancing." A grin formed on her face as Jaune blushed and looked away, Pyrrha mirroring his actions.

"Perhaps one day, but for now why don't you two relax while I grab some drinks?" Jaune supplied, earning duel nods of agreement.

A quick walk to the nearest snack table, Jaune unfortunately had to wait as Junior's men were busy restocking everything. As he patiently waited, a young woman walked to the table from the other side. At seeing no one was around, she gained Jaune's attention by calling out, "What does it take to get some service around here?"

Turning to speak, Jaune was stuck speechless for the second time that night as he heard Ed give a loud wolf whistle. Like many of the woman attending the party, the young woman's costume was of the sexy verity, and this one could give Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha a run for their money. The majority of the costume consisted of a vinyl bodysuit that was so skin tight, it might as well have been painted on. The left half of the costume was white, while the right was black. Adding to the sexiness of the costume was the large cutout of the body suit beginning at the middle of her shoulders and descending to just above her bellybutton, creating a large V that showcased the young woman's mocha skin. She also wore a mask, really more of a helmet, that hid most of her hair, although Jaune could see the edge of her mint green bangs. The stylized mask, a bone white snake skull with large red eyes, made it obvious what inspired the costume.

Before he could stop himself, Jaune commented, "I don't think Grimm are supposed to be sexy, especially not a King Taijitu."

Turning to Jaune, the young woman challenged, "Perhaps I felt like giving people something to talk about?" She then gave Jaune's own costume a once over before commenting, "Phantom Nevermore? Nice choice. Any particular favorites? I prefer Lefou's collection, particularly the origin story with the uncle."

Grinning Jaune replied, "The one where Nevermore has control over shadows? That's a favorite of mine as well, and I'm not just saying that to agree with an amazingly beautiful woman."

Returning Jaune's grin, the dark-skinned beauty asked, "So then Mr. Nevermore, fancy stealing a dance with me?"

As tempting as the offer was, Jaune had to decline, "Sorry to say that I can't at the moment." This caused the woman's grin to turn to a frown, "I'm actually here with some people and they're waiting for me to come back with the drinks." At this point one of Junior's men finally arrived and began laying out the snacks and drinks. Grabbing a few drinks, Jaune was about to leave, only for the woman to grab his arm.

"Hey, if your friends allow you some time to yourself, come find me on the dance floor." Her offer made, the woman disappeared into the crowd before Jaune could respond or ask for her name.

With the encounter replying in his mind, Jaune made his way back to his dates, handing out their drinks as he silently took a seat. Seeing her boyfriend's somewhat odd behavior, Pyrrha asked, "Did something happen Jaune?"

"Just someone offered me a dance, but I told them no since I was with you two." Jaune explained before taking a drink of his own.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Yang asked, "Go back out and get that dance." The simple order caused Jaune to almost spite out his drink.

After safely swallowing his drink before any more surprises were delivered, Jaune asked, "Are you sure?"

Yang shook her head slightly as she said, "The whole point of coming here was to relax and have some fun. If you want to still dance but we can't keep up with you, I don't see a problem in letting someone else have a turn." She then gained a predatory smirk as she stated, "Besides, we all know who you're taking home tonight."

Ignoring the suggestive remark, Jaune turned to Pyrrha and asked, "Are you okay with this?" The masked red head sat still for a moment before giving a hesitant nod. "Alright then," Jaune said as he stood up and started walking back to the dance floor, "once more into the breach."

It didn't take Jaune long to find the mysterious beauty, who stood within a large group but was dancing by herself. Silently moving behind the young woman, taking her by surprise as he wrapped his arms around her while he said, "Now this is a gem I certainly wish I could steal."

Quickly the woman turned, her shocked expression turned to a grin as she turned saw who grabbed her. Still, she quickly twisted herself away from Jaune's grip but stayed close as she danced with the boy.

* * *

Unknown to the pair, they were dancing within sight of a certain pair of Huntresses-in-training. As she watched her a girl dance with her boyfriend, a bit too close for comfort, Pyrrha asked Yang, "Should we be worried?"

"Maybe," Yang confessed, "I don't take Jaune as the type of guy to intentionally play with our hearts, he's probably just having some fun."

"But this is the same guy who's fallen for two girls and is dating both of them." Pyrrha challenged as Jaune pulled the girl to him and into a deep dip, the dark-skinned beauty laughing all the while. "It might be that he's falling for someone new."

"Again, maybe." Yang replied. "Look, I get that you're new to dating but trust me, if Jaune starts falling for someone who we'll probably never meet again, then we'll just have to remind him why he fell for us in the first place. Now, let's just let the boy enjoy himself."

Ultimately Pyrrha nodded, still feeling hesitant about the situation but trusting in her friend.

* * *

Jaune couldn't say how long he'd been dancing for. As he continued dancing, he noticed the dance floor slowly becoming less crowded. He was about to voice his thought, only for the DJ to put on a slower song. Slowly, he placed his hands around his new friend's hips, keeping an arms distance between the two.

The young woman smiled, not unlike one of Yang's grins, as she said, "Now that isn't any fun." Moving quickly, she looped are arms around the taller teen's neck and pulled down, forcing Jaune to step forward, barley a few inches of space between their bodies. "There, that's better."

Gulping nervously, Jaune tried to distance himself as he said, "That's a little too close. My girlfriends might be okay with me dancing with you, but this might be crossing the line."

At hearing what he said, his dancing partner's grin turned into a tight line as she said, "Girlfriends, huh? I thought you said you were here with some friends?" She then let go and took a few steps back as she said, "Didn't take you for a heartbreaker, you seemed to be different from the usual guys who show up to these things."

Trying to follow after, Jaune attempted to explain, "No, I'm not like that. They know about each other, I'm not hiding anything from them."

"It's still just too weird for me," the young woman said as she started making her way out of the crowd, "if it's all the same to you, I think I'm going to leave now."

Jaune could do nothing but watch as she walked away, disappearing from sight. As if sensing his sadness, Yang and Pyrrha soon arrived at either side of Jaune. The blond was the first to speak as she said, "Sorry about that Jaune, we saw everything. I guess this whole thing is a bit weirder than we expected."

"Still," Pyrrha said, "if you feel like making everyone jealous again you have two girls who wouldn't mind giving you another dance."

Despite everything, Jaune managed a smile as he said, "Thanks you two, really." He then turned to Pyrrha and said, "I think I finally ran out of steam, is it alright if we just relax until the party winds down?"

Both girls nodded, but Yang added, "Party's almost over anyway, for us at least. If we don't leave soon we won't make it back to campus before curfew." She gave Jaune a quick peck on the cheek before telling the pair, "You two go sit down while I round everyone up, shouldn't be too hard to find everyone, especially with everyone cheering on Nora for staying on the mechanical bull."

* * *

Although no one was around to witness it, the backdoor of the warehouse screeched loudly as it was kicked open. From the building the sexy King Taijitu stalked out before grabbing her mask and ripping it from her head, revealing her hair to be cut short to frame her face aside from two long locks in the back that stretched down to her waist. Also revealed where red eyes the same shade as the mask. With a cry of frustration, the young woman violently threw the mask against the concrete, shattering the accessory.

As she huffed and tried to get her breath back, a voice called out, "Ah, is someone sad they couldn't keep dancing?"

Turning, the young woman glared at the approaching teen. The light skinned boy had grey hair messily slick-backed out of the way of grey eyes. The same color dominated the zipped up jacket, along with some black accents. The teen also wore a pair of black pants and thick black boots, although silver a few silver buckles and belts could be seen on the teen's feet. He also wore a set of metal arm guards while a grey bandana on his belt that displayed his personal symbol, a stylized black winged foot.

Still glaring at the approaching teen, the young woman called out, "Mercury, I'm honestly not in the mood for this. So please tell me you actually did your job for once."

"Why Emerald, I'm hurt." The other teen dramatically said as he placed his hands over his heart, "You would think that you were finally changing your opinion on me." When the glare didn't change, Mercury dug into one of his pockets and produced a data drive. "While you were enjoying yourself at the party, I broke into Junior's office and found the address. We can make our move in a few days."

Emerald didn't bother with a response, instead she turned and started stalking away, Mercury following after as the red eyed teen said, "Well congratulations on actually being useful for a change. Now let's get back to base so I can get out of this monstrosity." Still not looking back, she asked, "Why was it you needed to make the grab again? I thought we firmly established I'm the cunning thief while you're the attack dog."

"Because we needed a good distraction to keep all of Junior's men at the party and away from the nightclub." He then smirked as his gaze travelled lower and stated, "Aside from that, there's no way I could pull that costume off, it doesn't compliment my legs at all. Did I tell you look good?"

Emerald quickly rounded on the teen, her glare returning as she said, "I told you before, it's not going to happen. Not with you or any other guy."

"Well you certainly seemed to enjoy yourself dancing with that guy in there." Mercury challenged.

"That's called playing a part." Emerald explained, "Something I hope you'll learn how to do once we get to Beacon."

Mercury just brushed off the statement as he started walking ahead, "Don't worry about me, just start getting ready for the assignment. After all, you want to prove you're still useful to Cinder, right?"

Emerald didn't respond, instead focusing and getting back to base to change into something that didn't threaten to give her a wedgie with every step. She also chose to ignore the slight ache in her chest as when she inadvertently thought of a certain dance partner she had tonight.

* * *

 **24 pages, a bit shorter than the last chapter but still a good length.**

 **So first thing's first, a huge thank you to LaughingLefou for allowing me to use the Phantom Nevermore as Jaune's Grimm Night costume. I had initially planned on using something else, but after rereading the story, I just felt that it worked better.**

 **As for everything else, well there was Pyrrha's date, a quick wrap up of the first season of the show, and a bit extra. I hope everyone had as much fun reading about the date and the Grimm Night party as I had in writing it. Still as much fun as I had writing this chapter, there are still a few unanswered questions. Questions such as…**

 **What is the favor Jaune owes Junior?**

 **Why would Jaune have diplomatic immunity?**

 **Are Pyrrha's fears justified?**

 **All these questions and more will be answered in future chapters of** _ **A Grimm Arc**_ **!**

 **But while we wait, here's acw28 saying, "until next update."**

* * *

EXTRA

Weiss' Apology

Returning back from costume shopping with her partner, Weiss couldn't help but wonder why Vale's Council hadn't decorated the city for Halloween. Ultimately the Schnee heiress decided that the powers that be did not want spend the time and resources to decorate the city, only to quickly take down the decorations and redecorate for the Vytal Festival, so they must have decided to focus on the event more likely to have a monetary return.

As she continued walking back to the dorms, the glyph user saw a familiar set of bunny ears. Thinking back to what Jaune had said the other day, and her promise to Blake to be better, Weiss called out, "Velvet! Wait!" Surprisingly, the rabbit Faunus turned around, but gave the younger girl a questioning gaze as Weiss began, "Recently it has been brought to my attention that I did not have the most…gracious attitude regarding some of my classmates."

"Are you…apologizing to me?" the confused teen asked.

"Yes, I am." Weiss stated before elaborating, "I allowed a number of uncultured stereotypes and prejudices to influence my perception of many Faunus, not just my classmates. I hope you can forgive me."

Smiling, the upperclassmen placed and hand on Weiss' shoulder and replied, "You're a Schnee, if anyone on campus have seen a group of Faunus at their worst, you would be in the top running. I'm not excusing your behavior, but it is understandable."

"You're not angry?" Weiss asked, shocked that the rabbit eared teen was so calm about this.

"Part of the reason I want to become a Huntress is to show people that Faunus are people to, to try and reverse some of the prejudice." Velvet began to explain, "The fact that you recognize what you've been doing, that you're apologizing for it and trying to change, that's just one victory against people like Cardin."

"Wait," Weiss asked, "so could you have stopped him yourself at any time?"

"Oh yeah, I could have kicked his butt from Atlas and back at any time." Velvet revealed before asking, "But what would that accomplish? So what if they provoked me, I would have just been another blood thirst Faunus that could be used to justify their racism. Sometimes it's better to let people figure things out for themselves." She then recalled a conversation she'd had with her teammate Yatsu regarding the former Team CRDL and their former bullying antics. Smiling, she finished by saying, "Of course, it doesn't hurt to have friends to help out and to know people care."

Weiss nodded at that before reiterating her apology and began heading back to the dorms, she needed to get ready for the party, and she still needed to figure out some way to apologize to Jaune's sister.


End file.
